{
  "id": 15945325,
  "title": "Reach new heights of laziness by burning tokens to let an AI tap your smartphone screen for you",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/reach-new-heights-of-laziness-by-burning-tokens-to-let-an-ai-tap-your",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-21T20:13:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Register Software",
    "slug": "the-register-software",
    "url": "https://www.theregister.com/ai-and-ml/2026/10/21/reach-new-heights-of-laziness-by-burning-tokens-to-let-an-ai-tap-your-smartphone-screen-for-you/5304567"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The latest innovation in digital laziness is the launch of Opposable, a tool that allows an AI to take over your smartphone's screen for you. This seemingly excessive convenience app enables users to let a computer agent, via a companion device, perform tasks such as updating calendars, starting timers, and enabling dark mode. Opposable's creators claim that the AI \"gives you thumbs\" to tap, swipe, and type on your Android or iPhone device, sparing you the tedium of using your own hands. The AI agent utilizes accessibility services to inspect the screen, with visual input provided by screenshots. A vision-language model, GUI-Owl 1.5 2B, interprets the images to determine where the AI needs to tap on the screen to carry out the user's requests. While some tasks, like setting alarms or switching Wi-Fi, are handled by fixed code, many others rely on the AI model. However, Opposable's practicality is questionable, as its speed and accuracy are both subpar. Examples of tasks executed using Opposable have shown that it takes much longer and costs significantly more than simply using your hands or a virtual assistant like Gemini or Siri. Despite the tool's poor performance, users are invited to sideload the app and grant it access to read and interact with the screen through accessibility settings, despite the inherent security risks. Opposable's website warns of potential security disasters, but still encourages users to experiment with the app.",
  "summary": "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",
  "key_points": [
    "Opposable AI tool lets smartphone screen be controlled by computer agent",
    "AI agent uses vision-language model GUI-Owl 1.5 2B to interpret screenshots",
    "Opposable app invites users to sideload despite security risks"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Register Science",
        "title": "Reach new heights of laziness by burning tokens to let an AI tap your smartphone screen for you",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/reach-new-heights-of-laziness-by-burning-tokens-to-let-an-ai-tap-your-15950186",
        "published": "2026-10-21T20:13:33.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}