How AI will Change Workspaces

January 6, 2025 at 03:22 PM

Note: This is not a blog, it's a semi-private digital garden with mostly first drafts that are often co-written with an LLM. Unless I shared this link with you directly, you might be missing important context or reading an outdated perspective.

AI will probably change the design of the modern office.

The Rise of Voice as a Primary Interface

Right now, we control computers largely through text and precise edits—a painstaking process of externalizing internal thoughts into structured input. Our internal monologue is largely words, often faster and more complex than what we can express through typing or clicking.

When you put your thoughts down on a computer, the ratio of internal words to external words right now skews very heavily towards internal words. But the newfound ability to just speak out your words also keeps your mind clear and lets you express your best thoughts in full richness to the computer. So, comma allowing for editing confusion or redundancy later. But the most important thing is that nothing gets lost in this way of working. Except images perhaps, but those don’t become any more difficult.

The Need for Feedback and Privacy

As voice becomes a primary medium for interaction, the need for rapid feedback from computing systems grows. Models that quickly respond aren’t actually necessarily better. It’s important for the human to be able to have long silences, to pause and reflect and think of their next words. For example, I find myself very deliberately using advanced voice versus standard voice models on chat GPT for different purposes, depending on whether I want something quick and conversational or something deep and thoughtful.

The other interesting implication is privacy. Speaking raw, unfiltered thoughts aloud requires a space where individuals feel comfortable and secure. Without the right environment, people may hesitate to fully embrace the potential of voice-driven tools.

The Office of the Future: Balancing Openness and Focus

The ideal office of the future will address these needs by blending openness with privacy, collaboration with solitude. Here’s what that might look like:

  1. Central Meeting Spaces Open, well-lit spaces will continue to serve as hubs for collaboration, fostering creativity and connection. These areas will be designed to promote a sense of community and shared purpose.

  2. Private Thinking Spaces To support focused, voice-driven work, offices will feature small, enclosed booths or rooms. These spaces will be soundproof and equipped with advanced AI systems that allow workers to speak freely and receive immediate feedback.

  3. Open, Nature-Integrated Areas For freeform thinking, employees might roam in garden-like settings if finances afford it, using mobile devices to capture ideas as they walk and talk. These spaces will encourage creativity and relaxation, bridging the gap between work and well-being.

  4. Flexible Workstations Desks and workstations will evolve to accommodate both traditional computing and voice-driven interactions, offering a seamless transition between modes of work.

Toward a More Natural Workflow

The shift toward voice interfaces and redesigned offices reflects a deeper trend in technology: the move toward tools that align more closely with human cognition. By enabling us to externalize ideas as naturally as we think them, these innovations promise to unlock new levels of creativity and productivity. The office of the future won’t just be a place to work; it will be a place that helps people think, create, and collaborate more effectively than ever before.