Google envisions AI as the default interface for phones, browsers, and workspaces. No more hunting through menus. Just speak your goal. The system handles the rest. This shift, previewed ahead of Google I/O, draws from Project Astra and Gemini advancements, turning apps into background operators. At its core sits Project Astra, a DeepMind prototype for a universal assistant. It processes video, audio, text, and screen shares in real time. Capabilities now flow into Gemini Live, where users point cameras at objects—a bike repair, say—and get step-by-step guidance. “Project Astra streams live video and audio into an AI model, and responds with answers to users’ questions with little to no latency,” TechCrunch reports, citing Google. Android 17 amplifies this. Agentic automation lets Gemini act across apps. Plan dinner and a movie? It checks calendars, scans Maps, books tables—all without you switching screens. Apps persist. You simply don’t touch them.…