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AI is NOT what you think it is
A deep dive into why treating AI like an app is a losing strategy and how to rethink your company, your product, and your edge from the OS up.
AI Isn’t a Tool. It’s the New Operating System.
AI, AI, AI, it’s everywhere and it has not stopped taking over our newsfeeds, conversations and.. lives? It is crazy to think about the fact that GPT 3.5 launched, publicly, at the end of 2022(!). I definitely remember the impact it had, it was when the race started for many. 2 years and 8 months later and nothing is slowing down. Many people, companies, governments are still trying to understand what this actually is and what this will actually mean.
A common theme that I see a lot is that there is (still) an OVERestimation of what the technology can do on the short term and an UNDERestimation of what the impact will be on the longer term. People thinking they can have perfect content with one picture as input, expect magic from GPT with one simple sentence as a prompt, or a super AI agent as a “do-it-all” assistant. Don’t get me wrong, I think all of that is going to be possible, just not yet. A lot of this is driven by the many people trying to sell the perfect courses to built AI agent that deliver everything, you only need to spend an hour or two. As someone who has built these automations and agents myself, being pretty tech savvy, let me tell you, it’s not that easy haha! It’s a lot of fun though, and it can actually do solve a lot of challenges and create real efficiencies in your business. The goal is to start optimizing workflows by 10, 20, 30 or even 50%. Just don’t expect to spend two hours and fully automatize everything you do. If you need help, feel free to shoot me a message.
Sorry, I ranted a bit there but it does lead me to this article. In order to truly understand what AI really means in the broader context, we need to maybe shift your perspective a bit. That is the goal of this article. My goal is to explain the following:
AI Isn’t the New Interface. It’s the New OS.
As honest as I am, I did not come up with this so not claiming anything here, but let me explain what this means and why it is important. Let’s start by looking at history, what happened when we changed our core digital operating systems?
When the OS Changes, Everything Changes
Every major shift in computing didn’t start with a press release. It started with a new way of interacting and ended with a new market leader. We talked about this already back in edition 9 with my article called: how the next step in digital interaction will change everything. Thinking about it now we have to go deeper because if the way we interact changes, the entire stack below it has to adapt. And history shows us: most can’t.
Let’s walk through the biggest ones:
From Keyboard to Mouse (IBM → Microsoft)
In the early era of personal computing, everything ran through the command line. DOS, UNIX, systems designed by and for engineers. You needed to know exact syntax just to launch a program. It was powerful, but inaccessible. I remember these days and it did feel like magic, having to memorize/write down the right / : “ in order to launch my favorite game.

At the start of the 1980s, IBM owned 80% of the PC market. By the early ’90s, that number had collapsed to around 20%
The operating system that was destined to take over is called GUI (Graphical User Interface). The GUI wasn’t invented by Apple or Microsoft. It was developed at Xerox PARC in the 1970s. They built a system called Alto with windows, icons, and a mouse, but Xerox failed to commercialize it.
Steve Jobs visited PARC in 1979, saw the GUI, and immediately knew it was the future. Apple then built the Lisa (1983) and the more affordable Macintosh (1984), the first consumer computers with a true GUI and mouse.
Microsoft was Apple’s software partner at the time, even building early apps for the Mac. But then Microsoft launched Windows 1.0 in 1985. It wasn’t great — basically a GUI skin on top of MS-DOS (another great example of why just putting a new OS on top of the old infrastructure just doesn’t work, more on that later…). But it got better fast.
By the time Windows 3.0 and then Windows 95 came out, Microsoft had:
• A GUI OS compatible with the massive IBM PC ecosystem
• Cheaper hardware partners
• More business software, especially Microsoft Office
Apple kept their OS tied to their own hardware. Microsoft made Windows the standard on PCs made by any manufacturer such as Dell, HP, Compaq, etc.
By 1997, Microsoft had over 90% OS market share on desktops and Apple was near bankruptcy..
Xerox invented it. Apple perfected it. Microsoft scaled it. And history rewarded the one who owned the platform, not the one who invented the idea. Interesting fact to keep in mind when coming up with your own business ideas.
From Mouse to Multitouch (Microsoft → Apple)
As the GUI became the norm and desktop computers took over the world, Microsoft dominated. Windows was everywhere, in offices, schools, homes. Computing became mainstream. But the interface hadn’t fundamentally changed in over a decade: point, click, drag, scroll.
Then came mobile.
Early smartphones, PalmPilots, Nokias, BlackBerrys, tried to bring computing into your pocket, but they were clunky. They either relied on styluses, physical keyboards, or miniaturized versions of desktop UIs. Remember that crazy windows for mobile? That you had to take a stylus to click on the start button bottom left corner, literally a small computer. It’s hilarious if you now think about it 🤣.

What a pain in the *ss using this. It was even called “Pocket PC” 🤣
Enter Apple. Again.
In 2007, Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone as a multitouch-native device. No stylus. No physical buttons. Just your fingers. Tap, swipe, pinch, zoom, it felt like the future.
But what made the iPhone revolutionary wasn’t just the hardware, it was that Apple didn’t try to shove macOS into a smaller screen. They rebuilt the operating system from scratch, with a new interaction model at the core.
So again, the real breakthrough happened when someone redesigned the complete operating system from the ground up that relied a new way of interacting. As shown above Microsoft remained stuck with its legacy thinking as they just compressed desktop metaphors into a tiny screen, layered menus, styluses, Start buttons. It couldn’t compete.
The results?
• iPhone sold over 6 million units in its first year
• The App Store launched in 2008 and exploded. By 2010, there were over 300,000 apps
• Microsoft’s mobile OS peaked at just 2.5% global market share before being shut down..
Once again, the OS shifted because of a new way of interacting with digital. Apple started from scratch, and won. Microsoft retrofitted, and lost.
The pattern repeated:
• The previous leader built too much around the old paradigm.
• The new winner rebuilt around the new one.
And now, we’re seeing it again.
From Multitouch to Language (Apple → ???)
Touchscreens became the default. First on phones, then on tablets, then everywhere. iOS and Android split the world. App Stores became the new gatekeepers. Apple, the underdog in the desktop era, became the most valuable company on the planet.
But the interface paradigm hasn’t changed since 2007. Tap. Swipe. Drag. The same gestures we used on early iPhones are still how we control most devices today.

Has the iPhone fundamentally changed at all since then 2007? Here Steve Jobs introducing the very first iPhone ever.
Until now.
The rise of large language models gave us something new: a computer that understands natural language.
This is the beginning of a new OS, one where the primary input isn’t a finger, but a sentence. Where you don’t navigate to get things done but you describe what you want, and the system interprets, reasons, and acts.
But here’s the thing: just like Microsoft tried to shrink a desktop OS into a phone, today’s large brands are trying to bolt AI onto their multitouch-first systems. And it shows.
In a podcast I listened to, the guest gave a great example of the difference it will make.
“If I want to control my iPad for my kid, I might want to say: this device should only be available to this kid on Tuesdays for half an hour. During that time, he can browse the web — but only kid-safe websites — and use two specific apps. If he doesn’t use it, he can roll that half hour over to Wednesday. Outside of that window, he shouldn’t be able to access anything except the calculator.
Why can’t I just tell Apple’s device that, and it transforms that request into the right software behavior?”
Now imagine just saying that and your device does it.
That’s the new paradigm. It’s not an app. It’s an operating system that listens.
And Apple, for all its power, is (so far) deeply invested in the old one. Their architecture is built for touch. Their control layers are designed around swipes and toggles. It seems like they might have to completely start over.
Just like IBM couldn’t shift to GUI, and Microsoft couldn’t shift to mobile, Apple may struggle to shift to language.
The interface is changing again. And just like before, the winner won’t be the one who tries to retrofit the past. It’ll be the one who builds for what’s next.
Which is also exactly the reason why some companies are betting big on the “next iPhone moment”. It feels like that is what needs to be done once again, design from the ground up with AI as the OS.

It seems like OpenAI knows that just building the best and brightest AI models won’t be enough to become the world’s biggest and most important company. That is exactly why they made such a huge bet (a 6.5 Billion dollar bet) with acquiring legendary designer Jony Ive and his company.
But knowing the above history, it is totally worth the bet. The same goes for Mark Zuckerberg going above and beyond to build a new super AI team as it seemed like the old one was not good enough to play at the highest level. He personally connected and messaged the best AI researchers in the world in order to have private dinner with them. The result is the AI Avengers that were announced last week.
Wait, Isn’t ChatGPT the OS?
AI has a branding problem, although it’s very handy for OpenAI 🤣. Maybe people think ChatGPT = AI, but it’s not. ChatGPT is an app. So is Cursor. So is Perplexity. Just like Microsoft Word was an app on Windows or Safari is an app on iOS.
The real OS here is the model layer, the foundation that interprets natural language, reasons across data, calls tools, and performs actions based on intent. That’s what powers the new generation of apps.
So when I say AI is the new OS, I’m not talking about ChatGPT the product. I’m talking about the AI model beneath it, the thing making it possible to talk to software like a human and get intelligent output back.
And that’s the thing companies need to build on top of, not just around.
Rethink Everything
Most companies are still asking the wrong question: How do we add AI to what we already do? That mindset might help you stay competitive in the short term. It won’t help you win the long game.
Because AI isn’t a plugin. It’s not a feature you “integrate.” It’s not the cherry on top of your product stack. It’s the new foundation on which entirely new companies, business models, and experiences will be built.
Most companies are still thinking in legacy terms:
• Let’s use AI to speed up our workflows.
• Let’s add a chatbot to our website.
• Let’s automate customer support.
None of that is wrong. It’s just small. It will definitely help you in the short term, but it won’t revolutionize your company. It’s retrofitting the old OS with new parts. The equivalent of Microsoft sticking a stylus onto Windows Mobile.
The opportunity now isn’t to add AI to your company. It’s to ask: what would your company be if it was built entirely on top of AI from day one?
What if your:
• You would restart your company today, how would you do it?
• Product was a conversation, not a UI?
• Core service wasn’t static, but intelligent and adaptive?
• Value proposition came from understanding and executing on user intent, not just delivering features?
• Marketing wasn’t about funnels, but personalized dialogues at scale?
Don’t underestimate the changes that it will bring
If there’s one thing I hope this article helps you see, it’s this: it’s not an app, AI is the thing that accelerates everything (else).
Just like electricity powered every industry. Just like the internet reshaped every business. AI is a general-purpose technology, but unlike the others, it’s also an interface, a logic engine, and an execution layer all at once.
That’s why treating AI like a tool will only take you so far. It’s not the next SaaS app to plug into your stack. It’s the new operating system for business itself.
Most people will chase incremental efficiency. A few will design entirely new systems. Those few will build the next generation of category-defining companies.
I want to invite you to:
• Rethink what your product really is
• Reimagine how value gets delivered
• Rebuild your workflows around intelligent collaboration
• Reinvent your company from the OS up
The earlier you start, the more of a head start you’ll have. The winners won’t be the ones who adapt the fastest. They’ll be the ones who build natively, for an AI-powered world that listens, understands, and acts.
The question isn’t whether AI will change your industry.
It’s whether you’ll be the one who changes with it or gets changed by it. Adapt or die.
Now I hope that you don’t feel scared by all of this, this is a massive opportunity. It does not matter if you work for yourself, run a company or work for a company. The rules will be rewritten, those times are chaotic for sure but you all can win big from this.
If you’re ready to rethink, rebuild, or just want to brainstorm what AI-native means for your business, shoot me a message. Again, my goal to help as many people and companies as possible benefit from this technological revolution and not get left behind by it.
LFG ❤️🚀
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Thank you for reading and until next time!

Who am I and why you should be here:
Over the years, I’ve navigated industries like advertising, music, sports, and gaming, always chasing what’s next and figuring out how to make it work for brands, businesses, and myself. From strategizing for global companies to experimenting with the latest tech, I’ve been on a constant journey of learning and sharing.
This newsletter is where I’ll bring all of that together—my raw thoughts, ideas, and emotions about AI, blockchain, gaming, Gen Z & Alpha, and life in general. No perfection, just me being as real as it gets.
Every week (or whenever inspiration hits), I’ll share what’s on my mind: whether it’s deep dives into tech, rants about the state of the world, or random experiments that I got myself into. The goal? To keep it valuable, human, and worth your time.
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