On sharing a desk

The first agents that used a computer had to borrow it. They took the pointer and the keyboard, and the person who owned the machine stepped back and waited. That is fine for a demo. It is a strange way to work with someone.

Think of how a new intern sits in an office. They have their own desk, close enough to ask a question, far enough not to be in the way. You can glance over and see what they are doing. You do not have to stop your own work to let them do theirs.

That is the posture we wanted for Numa in Chrome. It works inside the browser through its own extension, in its own tabs, while the person carries on in theirs. The tabs it is working in flash blue — a small signal, but it answers the question you would otherwise have to ask: which of these is mine, and which is it busy with?

Two presences on one machine is a design problem, not only a technical one. The agent has to be visible without being loud, and present without being in the way. A blue tab is our first answer. Sharing a desk well is what lets an agent take on more of the work — and it is where our next updates start.