Original title: The Interface of Theseus: The Rise of Just-In-Time Interfaces
Michael S. Bernstein · September 2026
Today, designers build software interfaces as fixed tools. Making these screens and buttons takes hard work, so people spend a lot of time carefully designing each one. But this reality is changing. Now, almost any software can be built to order in moments. When building software becomes cheap, interfaces do not need to be permanent. Instead, systems can build them in real time. The author calls these just-in-time interfaces. They are fast, disposable tools made right when you need them to fit your exact task. This change raises a big question: will designers keep crafting traditional systems, or will they build tools that generate screens for AI? The author argues that we should embrace this future of instant, custom, throwaway interfaces.
Imagine you need a tool for a single task, like opening a jar. Normally you buy a multi-tool that works for many things but is never perfect. Now suppose you could have a tool that forms itself exactly to that jar lid, then dissolves after you use it. In this paper, the author argues that instead of building one interface for all uses, we should generate a custom interface for each moment, then let it go.
This matters because it reimagines how we interact with software. Instead of learning and reusing the same interface, you get a custom one for each task, built instantly. It could make software more adaptable and personal, but also challenges the role of designers and the value of consistent, polished interfaces.
The abstract is a vision piece, not an empirical study. It does not provide evidence that just-in-time interfaces are feasible or desirable, nor does it address potential downsides like loss of consistency, learnability, or accessibility. The argument is speculative and lacks concrete implementation details.
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The Interface of Theseus: The Rise of Just-In-Time Interfaces — Michael S. Bernstein
Abstract licence: CC0
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper. This is a preprint, so it hasn't necessarily been peer reviewed.