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By 2020 the terms 'interface' and 'user' will be obsolete as computers merge ever closer with humans.
It is one of the predictions in a Microsoft-backed report drawn from the discussions of 45 academics from the fields of computing, science, sociology and psychology.
It predicts fundamental changes in the field of so-called Human-Computer Interaction (HCI).
By 2020 humans will increasingly interrogate machines, the report said.
In turn computers will be able to anticipate what we want from them, which will require new rules about our relationship with machines.
Smart devices
The keyboard, mouse and monitor will increasingly be replaced by more intuitive forms of interaction and display, including tablet computers, speech recognition systems and fingertip-operated surfaces.
Boundaries between humans and computers will become blurred over the next decade as devices are embedded in objects, our clothing or, in the case of medical monitoring, in our bodies.
Although paper will still be a reality in 2020, digital paper will also flourish allowing us to create, for example, social network magazines that update in real time.
 |  Without proper consideration and control it is possible that we - both individually and collectively - may no longer be in control of ourselves or the world around us  Being Human - Microsoft HCI report |
Our "digital footprint" - the sharing of more and more aspects of our lives through digital photography, podcasting , blogging and video - is set to get bigger and this will raise key questions about how much information we should store about ourselves.
Losing control
The ever-present network will channel mass market information directly to us while disseminating our own intimate information.
The report dubs this the era of so-called hyper-connectivity and predicts it will mean a growth in "techno-dependency".
This ever more intimate relationship between humans and computers will be a double-edged sword, it suggests.
The report compares the widespread introduction of the calculator - widely blamed for a fall in the standard of mental arithmetic - with what may happen as computers become more intelligent and take on new responsibilities.
"Without proper consideration and control it is possible that we - both individually and collectively - may no longer be in control of ourselves or the world around us," the report warns.
As well as the need for language to reflect the newly expanded human/computer environment so too the concept of teaching computer science will need to be adapted.
"Not just teaching children about how computers and applications work, but about their wider impact," reads the report.
Among its recommendations for the future direction of HCI, the report suggests there needs to be greater engagement with government and policy makers.
