All this talk about "AI Agents" and "AI Assistants" recently. [View all]

Supposedly, the next generation of AI claims to be able to do tasks like handling all your scheduling, send emails for you, post on social media for you, book your hotels/flights/restaurants/etc.

I get that it's pitched to be some great time saver, and I'm sure if functioning ideally, maybe it is.

But that aside, does any of this sound appealing to you? At all?

I am no Luddite. I rely heavily on my computer for work and for personal reasons. I have a smart phone, with various apps and all.

I am pragmatic, however, about my use of technology. I still like taking handwritten notes, which I then transcribe myself onto the computer. My scheduling system is literally a wall calendar--it helps me be visually aware all the time of not only the day's activities but also the week's or month's, with no electronic pop-ups required. It's just there on paper for me, 24-7.

I am not a big fan of online shopping, and typically only buy things online if I know I can't get it easily in the store. I like having the physical item in hand before I decide to purchase it.

I don't know--the whole idea of just relegating everything to AI in the interest of saving time just seems so incredibly cold and soulless.

Writing emails can be a hassle. I know that. I still want to know what's being written in my name before it's been sent.

Having something to send out social media posts in your name seems to be defeating the purpose behind social media to me.

I'll confess when it comes time to travel, I like booking hotels. I like looking at the ratings on Google and Tripadvisor. I like looking at the various hotel options on their websites. I like looking up the location of the hotels on Google Maps and seeing what's around. And after I've done that, and price shopped, I like making that final, informed decision in choosing the right place. (Even if it ultimately disappoints, which sometimes it does.)

I don't want someone else to do that for me. Not just that I don't trust some sort of algorithmic process to do it for me, because honestly, I don't. But also it just robs me of a sense of sovereign decision-making that I can assign to myself, whether I succeed or if I fail.

My work is heavily research and writing oriented. That takes time. Sometimes all that time required can feel overwhelming at moments. That's okay. That's life. I'd rather put out a product that I know represents my very best efforts than make cheap shortcuts and have something else do it for me.

I'm sorry. But just having a computer do everything in life for you out of supposed convenience sounds like a horrible, horrible way to live.