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Your phone as a remote control for AI agents.

  • Writer: Ram Srinivasan
    Ram Srinivasan
  • 5 hours ago
  • 3 min read

OpenAI just put Codex into the ChatGPT mobile app. 


Google is pushing Gemini further into a true agent in the cloud and deeper into Android‑level experiences. It’s internally testing Remy, a “24/7 personal agent” that can take actions on your behalf (not public yet). 


Anthropic shipped Dispatch in March, turning Claude on your phone into a remote control for your desktop.


𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮?

A big reason is that agents finally got good enough to run for long stretches, across many context windows, without losing the thread. AND, without a remote (like your mobile), you have to keep the machine alive and stay nearby, watching it work. Checkpoints and approvals mean you can’t leave it unsupervised for hours.


Whoever owns the approval surface owns the workflow, and therefore the customer. This is a land grab for the place your 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 lives when you’re not at your desktop.


𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲

With tools such as Codex, Dispatch, (and "Remy") the work keeps happening at your desk while you don’t have to. 


You can be in a meeting, on a commute, or talking to a customer while an agent is grinding through research, drafts, or reports in the background. You just drop in from your phone to make the small judgments that matter. 


Used well, this buys you more time to be fully present with other people.


𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸?

  •  The unit of work shifts from focused human sessions to human‑supervised, long‑running agent‑led tasks.

  •  On mobile, the value is handling checkpoints, interruptions, and redirecting agents from your phone while the real work runs elsewhere.

  •  As agents take over more execution, your day includes processing a queue of small judgments: approvals, edits, course corrections.

  •  Reviewing becomes the core skill, and it’s a different muscle than authoring.

  •  The “trusted machine” question becomes: cloud‑based agents vs. local control on your devices.

  •  Async stops being just a communication style and becomes a work style, with agents doing background runs and scheduled tasks.

  •  Output volume dies as a competence signal when machines can flood the zone for cheap.

  •  Uninterrupted thinking time becomes a luxury good.


𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂?

The marginal cost of executing many kinds of knowledge work is falling fast as long‑running agents take over more of the routine execution. This is especially true for work that can be clearly specified, instrumented, and supervised.


Inside most companies, IT is still wrestling this into place across data access, security, governance and more. BUT, once the plumbing catches up, the economics of knowledge work and the shape of your day will change fast.


So the real question is: What would you build if you had a team of 50 working for you, for free, forever?


You already do. Pick something big enough to deserve it. Until next time,

— 

Ram Srinivasan


MIT Alum | Author, The Conscious Machine | Global Future of Work and AI Adoption Leader published in Business Insider, Fortune, Harvard Business Review, MIT Executive Viewpoints and more.


—

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Disclaimer:

Ram Srinivasan currently serves as an Innovation Strategist and Transformation Leader, authoring groundbreaking works including "The Conscious Machine" and the upcoming "The Exponential Human."


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While I strive to ensure accuracy and timeliness in all communications, the rapid pace of technological change means that some information may become outdated. I encourage readers to conduct their own due diligence and seek appropriate professional advice for their specific circumstances.

 
 
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