With the increased applications of generative AI, I got interested in whether it could be of use in organising my life. Thus, I used it as a personal assistant for an entire day. My goal was to improve my productivity, reduce my procrastination, and make sense of my schedule. For this experiment, I used ChatGPT-4o, Monica Ai, and Taqtiq to assist me throughout the day.
To create a starting structure, I used GPT-4o to prepare a daily schedule incorporating the time for my work, studies and sports. Next to this, I added a request for a workout plan and some recipes for meals. The result was a comprehensive and personalised outline, that made my day well-structured and easy to follow.
For my work, I used the Monica AI extension as my all-in-one assistant. Powered by LLM’s like GPT-4, Claude, and Gemini, it provides an in-screen assistant that offers several functions such as an AI mind map, a writing agent, a search engine, summary options for both text and video, a translator, and an image generator. Of these options I mainly used the writing agent to help me write emails in the right tone. This significantly reduced the time I usually spend on answering emails and improved the clarity of my communication.
As a supporting feature for my work meetings the Taqtiq extension was of great use. As an AI transcriber it summarises important content and it processes conversations in real-time, converting discussions into concise pieces of text. This made my meetings more effective as I didn’t have to worry about missing important points.
For my studies, the content search on different economical concepts with GPT-4o was of great use, as the feedback made it easier to understand my study materials and acted as a boost to memorise theoretical frameworks.
By the end of the day, using these tools reduced my procrastination and made me feel more in control of my schedule. I completed tasks more quickly and had extra time to focus on projects that were previously on the backburner.
My experiment reflects the continued expansion in the use of AI in personal work. As highlighted by Murgia (2024) in the Financial Times, major companies like Google, OpenAI, and Apple are racing to develop advanced AI-powered personal assistants. Developments of “multimodal” AI tools which interpret voice, video, images, and code within a single interface, provide revolutionising advancements in understanding and executing complex tasks. Our interaction with the digital world is strongly enhanced as systems support our daily planning.
Despite the benefits, there are shortcomings to consider, particularly regarding privacy and data security. Relying heavily on AI assistants involves sharing personal and potentially sensitive information, raising concerns about how this data is stored and used. For example, I couldn’t use the Monica AI tool for certain email responses because the emails contained personal information from clients. ChatGPT is already vague about its data storage policies, and even more so with these extensions. The same applied to meetings; I had asked for permission to record the meeting beforehand. However, it’s possible to record without consent, potentially violating my colleagues’ privacy.
Currently, interactions with AI assistants are still mostly text-based, but I believe the future holds the potential for real-life AI assistants that we can speak to directly, receiving immediate responses without delay. My experience using AI tools as a personal assistant was largely positive; they significantly boosted my productivity and helped me stay organised. However, due to privacy concerns, it’s not something I will rely on extensively just yet.
As AI continues to advance, the possibilities seem endless; but would you be comfortable using an AI assistant in your daily life given the current privacy risks? And what features would make an AI truly indispensable to you?
References:
Murgia, M. (2024, May 17). The race for an AI-powered personal assistant. Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/8772d32b-99df-497f-9bd7-4244f38d0439
