About

What is NUX? and why should you care?

NUX - Natural User Experience is a new way of thinking about how we interact with technology. It's about making technology more human, more intuitive, and more natural.

Why now?

In Google I/O 2024 developer conference, Google announced they are integrating lightweight language model (gemini nano) directly into chrome. It opens up a new era of UX and overall user interaction with technology. Soon all the major browsers will follow the same path.

How it started?

backstory

On the 1st of July, 2024, I started to gain interest in the new technology that Google announced. Vercel also created a small chatui that uses the built-in language model to interact with the user. It was super fun. Then I looked into the codebase, and found they are using 2 libraries to make it work. But it's surprisingly easy to access the new AI model.

const textSession = await window.ai.createTextSession();
const response = await textSession.prompt("Hi there!");
console.log(response);

So, I built a simpler chatui within only one html file. It was super fun. Here's the demo: nanobot.rdsx.dev

source: github.com/rudrodip/nanobot

realization

I realized that I can hook up the local model with the UI and let it interact. So I started with a simple experiment. I created a thin wrapper that wraps a button and a simple function-calling mechanism. It worked, and I got the proof of concept.

It blew my mind, and I started to think about the possibilities. I can create a whole new way of interacting with websites.

This is how NUX started.

Future of NUX

I initially thought about creating a new library, but then I realized there's no need of a library, developers can integrate the model with their existing webapps to create unique experiences, it should not limited by any library.

I can confidently say, sooner or later, all the major websites will have some sort of AI integration that is directly linked to UI elements.

Being able to have a local model, and letting it interact with the UI, is a game-changer. It was never possible before. But now, it's possible. Chrome team is working hard to bring more and more gpu intense features to the web.

The rise of ARM chips, better GPU, and lightweight fine-tuned models will not only bring better chatbots but also a new paradigm of interfaces.

Current status

Let's be honest, the current model is not good enough. It's slow, and the responses are not that great. But it's just the beginning. The model will get better and better.

NUX bets on the fact that the model will get lighter and faster, and the response will get better and better. I know it's a long shot, but I'm confident that it will happen.

Currently, this is just a proof of concept. This website only has two interactions -

1. AI can click on buttons
2. AI can navigate to different pages

You can try it out by pressing ⌘ k or ctrl k and typing your query.

You might ask, well, what's the point? We can simply do that with navbar and buttons. You're right, these are not great examples. And honestly the model isn't that great to take on complex right away. But it's a start.

I'm excited to see where this goes. I will be integrating NUX into my personal projects and see how it goes. I will be sharing my journey on my x/twitter account. Stay tuned.