# From Human Interfaces to Agent Interfaces: Rethinking Software Design in the Age of AI-Native Systems

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.20300 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.20300/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in Reasoning for agents, planning and code, one of 17 directions in LLM reasoning.
- Builds on 7 of its 7 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 19 Mar 2026.

## Placed in

- LLM reasoning / [Reasoning for agents, planning and code](https://mlsanity.com/lr/reasoning-for-agents-planning-and-code/)
- LLM agents and tool use / [Software engineering coding agents](https://mlsanity.com/agents/software-engineering-coding-agents/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [Toolformer: Language Models Can Teach Themselves to Use Tools](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.04761/) (2023)
- [SWE-agent: Agent-Computer Interfaces Enable Automated Software Engineering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.15793/) (2024)
- [Agentic Software Engineering: Foundational Pillars and a Research Roadmap](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.06216/) (2025)
- [AI Agentic Programming: A Survey of Techniques, Challenges, and Opportunities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.11126/) (2025)
- [A Survey of Vibe Coding with Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.12399/) (2025)
- [Agentic AI for Software: thoughts from Software Engineering community](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.17343/) (2025)
- [Terminal Is All You Need: Design Properties for Human-AI Agent Collaboration](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.10664/) (2026)

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Can Agents Design Libraries for Agents?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.36730/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Software systems have traditionally been designed for human interaction, emphasizing graphical user interfaces, usability, and cognitive alignment with end users. However, recent advances in large language model (LLM)-based agents are changing the primary consumers of software systems. Increasingly, software is no longer only used by humans, but also invoked autonomously by AI agents through structured interfaces. In this paper, we argue that software engineering is undergoing a paradigm shift from human-oriented interfaces to agent-oriented invocation systems. We formalize the notion of agent interfaces, introduce invocable capabilities as the fundamental building blocks of AI-oriented software, and outline design principles for such systems, including machine interpretability, composability, and invocation reliability. We then discuss architectural and organizational implications of this shift, highlighting a transition from monolithic applications to capability-based systems that can be dynamically composed by AI agents. The paper aims to provide a conceptual foundation for the emerging paradigm of AI-native software design.