Integrating AI SDK for Computer Use

The release of Computer Use in Claude 3.5 Sonnet marks a significant advancement in AI capabilities, allowing models to interact with computer interfaces in a human-like manner. This feature, part of the AI SDK, enables automation of complex tasks by leveraging Claude's advanced reasoning abilities. In this guide, we will explore how to integrate Computer Use into your AI SDK applications, focusing on practical implementation and best practices.

Understanding Computer Use

Computer Use allows AI models to perform actions such as moving cursors, clicking buttons, typing text, taking screenshots, and reading screen content. This functionality is achieved through a series of coordinated steps:

1. Initiate with a Prompt and Tools: Start by adding Anthropic-defined Computer Use tools to your request and provide a task for the model.
2. Tool Selection: The model evaluates which tools can accomplish the task and sends a formatted tool call to use the appropriate tool.
3. Action Execution: The AI SDK processes the request by running the selected tool, and results are sent back to the model.
4. Iterative Task Completion: The model analyzes results to determine if further actions are needed, continuing until the task is complete or additional input is required.

Available Tools

The Computer Use API offers three main tools:

• Computer Tool: For basic computer control like mouse movement and keyboard input.
• Text Editor Tool: For viewing and editing text files.
• Bash Tool: For executing bash commands.

Implementation Considerations

Implementing Computer Use requires setting up a controlled environment and handling core functionalities like mouse control and keyboard input. Anthropic provides a reference implementation with a containerized environment and ready-to-use Python implementations of Computer Use tools. This serves as a foundation for building custom solutions.

Getting Started with AI SDK

To begin, ensure you have the AI SDK and Anthropic AI SDK provider installed:

pnpm add ai @ai-sdk/anthropic

You can add Computer Use to your applications using provider-defined tools. Define an execute function to handle actions like taking screenshots and executing computer actions.

import { anthropic } from '@ai-sdk/anthropic';
import { getScreenshot, executeComputerAction } from '@/utils/computer-use';
 
const computerTool = anthropic.tools.computer_20241022({
  displayWidthPx: 1920,
  displayHeightPx: 1080,
  execute: async ({ action, coordinate, text }) => {
    switch (action) {
      case 'screenshot': {
        return {
          type: 'image',
          data: getScreenshot(),
        };
      }
      default: {
        return executeComputerAction(action, coordinate, text);
      }
    }
  },
  experimental_toToolResultContent(result) {
    return typeof result === 'string'
      ? [{ type: 'text', text: result }]
      : [{ type: 'image', data: result.data, mimeType: 'image/png' }];
  },
});

Using Computer Tools with Text Generation

Once your tool is defined, use it with the generateText and streamText functions for text generation and real-time updates.

const result = await generateText({
  model: anthropic('claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022'),
  prompt: 'Move the cursor to the center of the screen and take a screenshot',
  tools: { computer: computerTool },
});
console.log(response.text);

Best Practices and Security Measures

To ensure effective and secure use of Computer Use:

• Specify simple, well-defined tasks.
• Use keyboard shortcuts for difficult UI elements.
• Implement safety measures like using virtual machines and limiting access to sensitive data.

Conclusion

Integrating Computer Use into AI SDK applications opens new possibilities for automation and interaction. By following best practices and implementing robust security measures, developers can harness the full potential of this feature.

Reference: AI SDK by Vercel by Vercel.