Reach new heights of laziness by burning tokens to let an AI tap your smartphone screen for you
Nothing will ruin your faith in humanity like an AI that operates your smartphone slowly, struggles with basic tasks, and can charge you for it
Introducing Opposable, a tool that allows AI to control your Android or iPhone for you. This new AI service enables users to have their devices tap, swipe and type on their behalf without ever having to lift a finger. The creators claim Opposable gives users "AI thumbs" that let an agent open apps, read screens and input data.
To use Opposable, a client supporting MCP (Multi-Model Control Protocol) is required, along with a computer or AI agent. For Android devices, accessibility services inspect the screen, while screenshots provide visual input for an AI model to decipher. The visual processing is handled by GUI-Owl 1.5 2B, running through llama.cpp. Tasks can be executed on a desktop AI agent or an on-device agent without the need for a desktop connection, though this option is only available on Android devices.
However, despite its claims of convenience, Opposable appears to be slow and inaccurate. Its website showcases only three examples of tasks it can perform, such as changing a device's theme to dark mode or setting a timer. These examples take anywhere from 50 seconds to 2 minutes and involve multiple tool calls, costing around $0.44. Comparatively, using your own hands to accomplish the same tasks is free and faster.
In one instance, Opposable opened an Android clock app and switched to the stopwatch tab in 96 seconds. The company behind Opposable even showcased this feat on their website. But is this level of performance truly impressive or worth the hassle? According to the creators, Opposable only succeeded at three-quarters of tasks, even with step-by-step guidance.
While Opposable can be used as an accessibility tool for those with difficulty using smartphones, this feature is not highlighted on their website and is instead presented as a means to delegate "phone chores." The website even warns users that granting access to Opposable poses a security risk, as whoever possesses the token can operate the phone like a password.
So, why install Opposable? The creators haven't provided a clear answer to this question.
Written by urgent.news from The Register Science's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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