 | I’ve been messing around with how interface design changes the way we experience AI. Most chat apps feel the same, fast, clean, kind of invisible. Lately it also feels like AI itself is still in its dial up phase. Slow responses, thinking pauses, loading states. That’s what gave me the idea to lean into it instead of hiding it. So I tried the opposite of modern design. I put an AI inside a Windows 98 style desktop. Beige box energy. CRT glow. Dial up pacing. No cloud feeling, no modern UI patterns. Just folders, files, and a Start menu. And weirdly, it feels more natural there than on a sleek glass UI. Instead of chatting, you interact with it like an old computer:
The constraints change the experience more than I expected. Slowing things down and adding friction makes it feel more personal, almost like the machine itself is part of the conversation. I also added things like fake boot screens, system errors, and small delays so it feels like the computer is actually thinking. It started as a nostalgia experiment but turned into a design question for me: What happens when you give AI an interface that has weight and limitations. Curious what you all think from a UX / interaction design perspective. Download: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ai-desktop-98/id6761027867 [link] [comments] |