It’s also an AI problem, because in the end we want what is called “computer use” from AI, and functionality like Recall. That’s an important part of what the CCC talk was about. The proposed solution to that is more granular, UAC-like permissions. IMO that’s not universally practical, similar to current UAC. How we can make AIs our personal assistants across our digital life — the AI effectively becoming an operating system from the user’s point of view — with security and reliability, is a hard problem.
Yes, we aren’t there yet, but that’s what OS companies are trying to implement with things like Copilot and Recall, and equivalents on smartphones, and what the talk was about.
I think what parent-poster means is humans dream of something at least like, say, ship's computer from Star Trek, which accepts some degree of fuzzy input for known categories of tasks and asks clarifying questions when needed.
Albeit with fewer features involving auto-destruct sequences... Or rogue holodeck characters.
