Various systems and methods for adaptively modifying a user interface are described. One embodiment is a method performed in a multimedia playback system for adaptively modifying a user interface. The method comprises receiving, by the multimedia playback system, multimedia content and displaying the multimedia content. The method further comprises generating, by a user interface generator, one or more controls displayed in conjunction with the multimedia content, identifying, by an object detector, a target object in a field of view of a video capture device coupled to the multimedia playback system, and predicting, by a selection predictor, a next selection of one of the one or more controls based on a path defined by the target object. The method further comprises displaying, by the user interface generator, a virtual pointer representing the target object in a vicinity of the predicted next selection of the one or more controls.