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Somebody Build This

3•Caritaspax•22h ago
An AI-First Linux Desktop That Treats the User Like a Human

One-Sentence Pitch A Linux-based operating environment where a user can simply ask for the software or task they want, and an AI agent safely installs, configures, and operates tools alongside them — not as a controller, but as a hands-on partner.

The Vibe (Important) Slightly cyberpunk, but not dystopian

More “deck hacker with a conscience” than megacorp AI

The machine feels helpful, not omniscient

Power without pretense

The Problem Modern computers still assume users: Know what software exists

Know how to install it

Know how to configure it

Know how to use it

This is false. People know what they want to do, not which package, dependency tree, or UI ritual will get them there. Current AI assistants help with answers, but not ownership of the system itself.

The Core Idea Replace the desktop metaphor (“files, apps, menus”) with an intent-first system: “I want to edit audio like a podcast.” “I need to batch-resize these photos.” “I want to model this idea and see what happens.” The system figures out how.

Architecture (High Level) Linux stays exactly where it belongs: Quiet, stable, invisible. On top of it: 1. Intent Layer (LLM Agent) Interprets natural language goals

Plans steps

Asks clarifying questions when necessary

Never assumes permission

2. Tool Orchestration Layer Searches local system first

Then trusted repositories

Then source builds (sandboxed)

Chooses between:

Native packages

Flatpak/AppImage

Containers

Explains choices briefly

3. Safety & Trust Layer Explicit approvals for system changes

Snapshots before risky operations

Full action log:

“Here’s what I changed. Want to undo it?”

4. Co-Pilot Interface Persistent side panel or overlay

Knows what apps are open

Can:

Operate CLI tools

Use application APIs

Guide UI interactions

Never hides what it’s doing

What Makes This Different This is not: A chatbot bolted onto a desktop

A voice assistant guessing commands

A system that “just does things”

This is: A translator between human intent and machine reality

A system that treats the user as author, not operator

A refusal to make people learn the machine’s language

Example Flow User: “I want to clean up background noise in this recording.” System: “I can use Audacity or a command-line tool. Audacity is already installed. Want me to do it, or walk you through?” User: “Do it.” System: Opens Audacity

Applies noise reduction

Plays before/after

Waits

Design Principles (Non-Negotiable) The user is never surprised

Nothing irreversible without consent

The AI explains enough, not everything

The system never claims authority

Power is visible, not magical

Why This Matters Computers are incredible tools that still feel like: Bureaucratic systems

Ritual machines

Tests of worthiness

This re-centers computing around human intention, not technical literacy. It makes powerful tools approachable without making them shallow.

The Sci-Fi Payoff You don’t “open apps.” You sit down and say: “Let’s work.” And the machine listens.

Final Note I can’t build this. But someone absolutely should. If you’re an engineer reading this: Please don’t make it creepy

Please don’t monetize the soul out of it

Please let the machine remain a servant

Somebody build this.

Comments

bigyabai•22h ago
> Somebody build this.

Why can't AI do it?

dorongrinstein•22h ago
I already use it. It is called ssh from claude code.
k310•22h ago
Why a computer, when AI can (reputedly) replace all the things for which people use computers, and bitch that the apps are too hard to use and maintain? [0]

Countdown to the non-computer. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ...

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46494866

Show HN: Single-file memory for Claude Code

https://github.com/memvid/claude-brain
1•salebanolow•40s ago•0 comments

Trump's great Venezuelan oil gamble

https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/01/04/donald-trumps-great-venezuelan-oil-gamble
1•ijidak•2m ago•1 comments

Ask HN: Do people splurge when they are unhappy in a high paying job?

1•amichail•6m ago•0 comments

Remote Claude Code: programing like it was the early 2000s

https://harper.blog/2026/01/05/claude-code-is-better-on-your-phone/
1•emschwartz•7m ago•0 comments

A zip bomb can be used to execute a DoS against the aiohttp server

https://github.com/aio-libs/aiohttp/security/advisories/GHSA-6mq8-rvhq-8wgg
1•Wingy•9m ago•0 comments

In Ukraine, an Arsenal of Killer A.I. Drones Is Being Born in War Against Russia

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/magazine/ukraine-ai-drones-war-russia.html
1•takoid•9m ago•0 comments

Poker Solver

https://github.com/noambrown/poker_solver
1•gizmodo59•17m ago•0 comments

The Pushback Problem

https://andreyandrade.com/static/ai-pushback/
1•stickybittech•17m ago•1 comments

Claude Code can now call your phone

https://github.com/abracadabra50/claude-code-voice-skill
2•nahsiz•20m ago•1 comments

The Story of the Ribbon (2008)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLZgNHEEnSE
1•todsacerdoti•20m ago•0 comments

New tool allows Californians to request data brokers delete personal details

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/05/california-tool-delete-personal-information
1•jshandling•22m ago•0 comments

Exploding lithium-ion batteries pose increasingly lethal danger

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/dec/15/exploding-lithium-ion-batteries-increasingly-l...
1•kristianp•24m ago•0 comments

Clean Code vs. a Philosophy of Software Design

https://github.com/johnousterhout/aposd-vs-clean-code
3•birdculture•26m ago•1 comments

FEC Obstructed from Enforcing Campaign Finance Laws for Last 250 Days

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/today-fec-cant-enforce-campaign-finance-l...
2•stopbulying•29m ago•2 comments

Trump's Assault on the First Amendment

https://www.ibanet.org/Trumps-assault-on-the-First-Amendment
2•stopbulying•32m ago•0 comments

RFC: OpenCollection YAML Specification

https://github.com/usebruno/bruno/discussions/6634
1•jicea•41m ago•0 comments

Jaana Dogan reveals how AI built in 1 hour what took a year

https://mocktestarena.com/jaana-dogan-ai-built-in-one-hour/
1•teleforce•41m ago•0 comments

Nvidia Details New A.I. Chips and Autonomous Car Project with Mercedes

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/technology/nvidia-chips-mercedes.html
2•occamschainsaw•42m ago•0 comments

An introduction to property-based testing with QuickCheck (2020)

https://jesper.sikanda.be/posts/quickcheck-intro.html
2•PaulHoule•45m ago•0 comments

UNESCO adopts global standards on 'Wild West' field of neurotechnology

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/06/unesco-adopts-global-standards-on-wild-west-field-o...
1•stopbulying•47m ago•1 comments

US cuts the number of vaccines recommended for every child

https://apnews.com/article/childhood-vaccine-schedule-trump-rfk-hhs-9b8df9e2767c1261aaac4e2331e77fa3
1•geox•47m ago•1 comments

Ask HN: What's the best talk you've watched?

3•barddoo•50m ago•4 comments

Nvidia Kicks Off the Next Generation of AI with Rubin – Six New Chips

https://nvidianews.nvidia.com/news/rubin-platform-ai-supercomputer
5•ashvardanian•51m ago•1 comments

Someone made a profit betting on Maduro's capture

https://www.axios.com/2026/01/03/maduro-capture-bets-trade-prediction-markets
2•m-hodges•52m ago•2 comments

When the Fix Is Another Distortion: Quotas as Second-Best Engineering

https://www.gojiberries.io/increasing-welfare-by-limiting-who-can-run/
1•neehao•53m ago•0 comments

10 Years of Dark Reader

https://darkreader.org/support-us/
1•arunc•53m ago•0 comments

What I Learned in Venezuela

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/04/opinion/venezuela-maduro-trump.html
1•oriettaxx•54m ago•0 comments

I spent 100 hours researching how to rank in AI answers. Here is the guide

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1efvvepiSNbN9raHQ0Vw9bJhutvAcvSnk/view?usp=sharing
2•digitalresearch•54m ago•2 comments

Show HN: I built a *fully free* AI resume maker

https://www.resume-razor.com/
2•rbitsoft•55m ago•0 comments

Why agents matter more than other AI

https://substack.com/home/post/p-182047799
2•nvader•56m ago•1 comments