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Prompts aren’t Real

118 points · 57 comments · mcfunley

  1. cortesoft · · focus · HN ↗
    I hope the future of AI isn't this sort, where companies provide the user/customer with an interface to an AI that can do things for the user... I would much prefer that companies instead provide an interface FOR an AI, and the user brings their own AI which connects to that interface.

    In other words, provide my AI with tools, instead of providing me an AI that uses your tools.

    That way, my AI can bring all the context it needs, and I can bring all of the settings and knowledge about what I want with me. I don't want a fractured world of tons of AIs i interact with where I have to explain all the fundamental information about what I want and how I work every time.

    This also has the benefit of sidestepping the issue the essay is talking about. You provide a consistent tool, and the AI weirdness is not your issue anymore. You don't have to worry about solving for all the weird ways people prompt the AI, or the ways they break.

    1. lubujackson · · focus · HN ↗
      > provide the user/customer with an interface to an AI that can do things for the user

      This is exactly what MCP is. But the reality is it will likely be about as popular as browser extensions and most normies will avoid.

      Simplifying UX at the cost of personal control is inevitable because not everyone wants to think about tool selection and coordination. But maybe we can angle the future toward "tool bundles" that interoperate well or (if we are dreaming) mandate models remain accessible by any harness, which none of the players want but would be best for users and ecosystem development.

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