Back to BASIC

Back in the 80s, when I first started playing with computers, a common experience (with simple amateur computers like the ZX Spectrum or the Commodore 64) was for the computer to boot into the BASIC read-eval-print loop.

Once inside the BASIC shell, one could issue a LOAD "" command to initiate the sequence of loading a game from a tape-recorder, but that was just one thing you could do. Since BASIC is both a programming language and an interactive shell, you could issue any command, like PRINT "HELLO WORLD" or POKE 1234, PEEK(5678), or compose a program out of such commands and run it.

Some people of my generation are nostalgic for this era of programmable computers. I'm not. When I turn on my iPhone, it has a brilliant user interface I can use to accomplish anything I need or desire, without writing any code. I like it that way.

When the developers of these home computers of the 80s decided to use BASIC as the default entry point to the device, I'm pretty sure they didn't think for a second that this is the ideal user interface for a personal computer. They just lacked the resources for implementing anything better, or any real idea for what a better interface would be.

It took a few more years until the Mac and then Windows popularised the windowing user interface, and even longer for the iPhone's touch UI, and eventually to interactive earphones and spatial computing goggles. But none of these would have existed if it wasn't for these earlier computers with the BASIC shell.

When I use today's chatbots like Microsoft Copilot or ChatGPT I am reminded of the BASIC shell. Copilots are almost definitely not the ultimate user interface for AI. But they open a door into the future. A way to interact with magical technology and start imagining what a more mature and sophisticated user experience for future AI might look like.