NLP Exceeds Mobile Impact

Dharmesh Shah believes we're at the cusp of a natural language processing revolution that will be more impactful than mobile, fundamentally changing how humans interact with software by removing the need to learn complex interfaces.

Key Points:

• Current Software Problems:

  • All software claims to be "intuitive and easy to use" but this is largely false
  • Users must translate their intent into series of clicks, drags, and swipes
  • Learning curve prevents many people from using powerful software

• The NLP Solution:

  • Users should be able to simply express what they want in natural language
  • Software should understand and execute the intent directly
  • Examples:
    • "Remove the background" in Photoshop
    • "How many new people signed up for our service in last 90 days" in business software

• Impact & Opportunity:

  • Bigger than the mobile revolution
  • Mobile: Made existing software accessible anywhere
  • NLP: Makes software accessible to billions who couldn't use it before
  • Removes the barrier of having to learn complex interfaces

• Key Areas for Implementation:

  • Business intelligence and reporting are natural fits
  • B2B software has significant opportunity
  • Consumer side already seeing early adoption (Alexa)

• Vision for Future:

  • Software should actually become intuitive
  • Natural language as the primary interface
  • Technology exists to understand human language
  • Need to build the translation layer between intent and execution