Do you like phones as they are or should AI take the wheel (and get rid of all of your favorite apps)?

We’re all witnessing a change in an era. AI is now the hot trend, and it’s quickly gaining abilities. The newest models can now generate made-up videos and photos, write music, organize trips… how far will it go?

Let’s think about the future of phones and apps for a second. What if AI gets so big that you no longer need a home screen and apps on your phone? What if you just get a prompt screen where you can type or talk to AI and it just does everything? And the way smart homes are made, this can even grow to surround the entirety of your life…

Do we want the phones as they are now? Or do we want them gone and replaced by an AI-driven phone?

Having an AI-driven phone rocks (most of the time!)

Here’s why it’s cool

• Time saver: You won’t waste precious time staring at a tiny phone screen. I mean, we’re surrounded by people constantly staring at phone screens (of course, they’re doing stuff). If you can just command AI to do something for you, you can leave your phone and look at the world around you. For example, I want it to organize a trip for me to Italy. I can just let it do its thing while I’m drinking coffee with my best friend and sharing creative ideas with her.
• Energy saver: You won’t need to lose time and energy to figure something out. Imagine an app update has transformed where things are, and you want to quickly edit a photo to post on social media. But now you can’t find the “Crop” button anymore. Instead of getting your eyes all watery trying to locate it, you ask the AI to edit the photo the way you like it and post it on social media. Then, you’re again, doing something more important with your life than digging in a phone app.
• Focused help, or basically understanding what you want even before you know what you want. Let’s say you just have a video you took of yourself and your dog, but you don’t like it for some reason. Instead of reading about “The best apps for video editing 2032”, downloading hundreds of apps, and fighting ads in there, you can tell AI that you want the video to be edited to look more cutesy and to show the love you have for your dog. Also, AI can analyze the video and figure out that it needs to get rid of the dirty laundry in the background and replace it with flowers. There you go!
• Even more futuristic: AI will get to know you. The more you use it, the more it will know what you like, how you like your things to be edited, how you like your hotels and trips, etc. This means it will be even more accurate when providing you with options.

Here’s why it basically sucks

• Can you really trust it? I mean, AI is evolving and getting even better, but how much trust do you want to put in the info it’s gathering, how it’s gathering it, and then offering to you? Will it use websites you know are trustworthy or will it make things up? That’s very important, especially, if you want it to plan your vacation, or find the best dentist in the vicinity.
• No, really, can you actually trust it?! What about what it gathers from you? Can you trust it to not spread your preferences for color editing online and then everyone is copying your unique style? Or will it use the info you’re telling it about yourself to sell it to… whoever? Could it actually copy you as a person and write someone else’s book with you as the main character? Is this not identity theft, in a way?
• What about control? What if you feel like AI is hiding things from you in the phone, or is installing things you don’t like? If you can’t see the screen, how are you to know what it’s doing, what apps are there, what photos are there..?

Current gen phones and their app environment kind of rocks (most of the time)

Here’s why it’s cool

• Control: You are in control of what you do on your phone, what you save where, and what you delete. You can install and uninstall apps and you have the knowledge to use them.
• Brain exercise: Your brain gets exercised when you’re learning a new app or discovering the changes that a new app update created. If you don’t use your brain for anything, it could get lazy.
• Customization: you can customize the way your phone and apps look. It’s a nice feeling to organize your apps, change wallpapers, and make this phone uniquely yours. Making it visually reflect how organized you are can make you feel better, and I personally love the feeling of being able to change almost everything on that screen.
• Safety/Privacy: You can trust yourself with what you’re doing. The majority of the time, if I’m doing research for a trip, I know what sites I’m visiting and why. I can save screenshots and compare info from different websites, making it easy for me to make my own opinion using my own logic. Also, I don’t give off my information to shady websites, and I usually like to be safe on the internet. Plus, I can grow my knowledge and become even safer.

Here’s why it basically sucks

• Time wasted: you can lose a lot of time doing everything manually. For example, sometimes I need to spend hours editing a reel for Instagram to my liking, while I could be spending this time with my family or friends. Some apps (especially social media) are also made to be addicting, so we can fall prey to countless hours of mindless scrolling.
• App confusion: Sometimes, you have to try countless apps before you find the one you need that does what you want it to do just right. Of course, that’s why “best app for…” types of articles exist online, but they also have at least 5-10 options for you to try out. This can get you quite annoyed, especially if you’re not finding what you need (and if you’re impatient, which I am, by the way).

Here’s what makes or breaks AI phones

• How much can you trust it to do everything for you? Is it reliable, who made it (and what did they want?), where is it taking its information from?
• How accurate it gets in getting you the result you need. If you lose time by adjusting the result and giving it hundreds of prompts to refine the result every time, it will be exactly as if you’re staring at your phone and doing it yourself.
• Will people care enough for customization options and installing/uninstalling apps? How much in control of your phone will you feel if AI is doing everything for you?

Who’s side are you on?

The list of pros and cons for both sides is definitely not exhaustive. Maybe you have another take than what I expressed here, or you resonate with one of the sides strongly.

Are you one of the people who just can’t wait to try an AI-driven phone? Or do you want this AI bonanza to be over already and just have the AI as an app on your phone? Share your thoughts and let’s see who’s side will be on the right side of history!

As for myself, I’m very tempted to let AI do everything I’m doing on my phone. But I am also of the mistrustful type that doesn’t allow for unnecessary cookies, has a Signal account because of fear that WhatsApp could be stealing data, and limits apps’ access to my entire gallery of photos all the time. So yep, maybe I’ll side with the people who like the phone as is. What about you?