Punch cards, terminals, mice, browsers, thumbs, chat — every computing wave shipped a new interface and more capability. Agents just stripped all those layers away and put you back at the terminal. Don't be scared of the terminal. The terminal is your friend. The new interface is conversation — you just talk. Compute Waves is a narrative by Brad Hart (Make More Marbles) for founders who don't write code but want to build their business by talking to AI agents.
Every wave did more — and added one more layer of abstraction between you and the machine. AI agents reverse that: they delete the layers, close the loop, and return you to the terminal, where voice and conversation are the interface.
Compute Waves is a narrative by Brad Hart that traces six eras of computing interfaces — punch cards, terminals, mice, browsers, thumbs, and chat — and argues that AI agents delete the layers of abstraction between you and the machine, putting every founder back at the terminal where conversation becomes the interface.
Six eras, each shipping a new way to talk to the machine: Punch (punch cards & warehouses, 60s–70s), Type (terminals, 80s), Click (GUI software, 90s), Navigate (internet/.com, 2000s), Tap (mobile, 2010s), and Chat (AI chat, early 2020s). Every wave added more capability and one more layer of abstraction.
Agents don't add a layer — they delete all of them. The UI is an abstraction that slows an agent down, so everything between you and the machine is stripped away. The loop closes and you end up back at the terminal, with voice and conversation as the new interface.
No. The premise of Compute Waves is that voice is the new UI — you say what your business needs out loud and the agent builds it. Founders who don't write code can ship real software by talking to the machine and compound it into their business.