Ling Universe Founder Gu Jiawei: Two 'Fundamental Constants' of Human-Computer Interaction

In a recent in-depth dialogue with Liu Chen, CEO of Mati Club, Ling Universe founder Gu Jiawei provided a rare, systematic exposition of his insights into the underlying principles of the human-computer interaction industry. This high-density conversation, occurring between two conference sessions, traversed from the dawn of technological history to the ultimate future of AI hardware. As a serial entrepreneur who created the Luka picture book robot with sales exceeding ten million units, Gu Jiawei's reflections, tempered by industry cycles, appear more measured and profound.

Gu Jiawei points out that in the long evolutionary history of human-computer interaction, there are two fundamental 'constants' that serve as a crucial coordinate system for understanding the current wave of AI hardware.

The first constant is the ironclad rule that interaction revolutions inevitably trigger industry shake-ups. He pulls the perspective back to the DOS era, when humans had to type commands to accommodate the machine. Subsequently, the graphical user interface from Xerox PARC inspired Steve Jobs, leading to the Macintosh, which brought folders and trash cans onto the screen and inaugurated the personal computing era. Later, Google rewrote the relationship between humans and information with its PageRank algorithm. Gu Jiawei emphasizes that each shift in interaction paradigms has spawned massive new giants, with the ultimate winners often being the latecomers bold enough to redefine the rules. He specifically mentions his mentor, multi-touch pioneer Bill Buxton, whose relevant research was published as early as the mid-1980s but remained dormant for nearly two decades before being truly ignited by the iPhone. This reveals that the maturation cycle of technology often exceeds expectations, but once the direction is established, it becomes an unstoppable force.

The second constant is the overarching direction of interaction evolution. Gu Jiawei outlines a clear trajectory: from command lines to graphical interfaces, from keyboards to touch, and now to voice and multimodal interaction. The underlying logic throughout this journey is a 'role reversal' – initially, humans proactively learned and adapted to machines, but the industry's ultimate direction is to make machines actively approach humans, understanding human intent, behavior, and emotion. He believes that deciphering the code for the new generation of AI interaction ultimately returns to the sociological essence of how humans progress from initial acquaintance to mutual understanding and the formation of bonds. From mainframes and desktop computers to portable devices, and ultimately to 'invisible interaction,' this path, foreseen by pioneers in the 1970s, has never changed.

Gu Jiawei's profound deconstruction of historical laws provides a sobering reference for the currently clamorous AI hardware market. Today, as the dominance of the graphical user interface loosens and large language models drive the increasing maturity of natural language interaction, a new round of transformation centered on 'AI-native interaction' is unfolding. Understanding these two 'constants' may be the prerequisite for seizing the opportunity in this impending industry shake-up. (Original by Mati Club / June 2026)