AI and Time Management – Is it here?

By Helene Segura, M.A. Ed., CPO® | February 9, 2023 |

 

Has the type of AI that can help us with time management arrived yet?

A lot of clients and workshop participants ask me what online platform or software they can purchase that will schedule their days for them, shift and reprioritize as needs change, and make sure they finish everything they’re supposed to.

 

Every single one of them asks this jokingly, but in reality, they’re serious.

 

We all want that easy button so that we don’t have to think about what to do. It’s easier to avoid a decision than make one. And when we avoid those decisions, our time management goes down the tubes.

 

Enter AI. Artificial Intelligence. This science has made great strides over the years. But is it advanced enough to make these time management decisions that my clients are seeking?

 

The answer is: no. Not yet, anyway.

 

“Insufficient facts always invite danger.”

 

Currently, any type of AI needs to be programmed manually and/or allowed to scour databases to “learn” patterns. It is not humanly possible to manually load every type of time management scenario, thinking process and decision-making algorithm for every human on earth to an AI system.

 

But that’s where automation and technology can come in, right? Let that AI system scour the world for information. Problem: This AI system would read anything that is publicly posted and accessible online. This includes jokes, wishful thinking, children’s stories, or the ramblings of mentally unstable individuals. This AI system would base patterns on people’s time management fantasies, fantastical imaginations of children, incorrect information, misleading information….Do you see where this is going?

 

If you’re not grasping how AI could be a huge failure, check out this AI story from science reporter Geoff Brumfiel.

 

The AI that could currently be used would spit out incorrect decisions based on incorrect, misleading or inaccurate information, research and patterns. The time management decisions it can make for you would most likely be far worse than anything you could experience by avoiding making decisions.

 

So, for the meantime, if you want improved time management, you’ll need to make decisions about how you want to use your time.

 

 

In the future, a more important question to ask is do you want AI to be able to do this? Perhaps I’ve seen entirely too many sci-fi movies, but I believe that the day technology can implement this kind of thinking and planning for us is the day we’ve lost control of the planet to robots.

 

“Live long and prosper.” (Thank you, Mr. Spock.)

 

 

For more guidance on analog time management (thriving without AI!), check out The Inefficiency Assassin: Time Management Tactics for Working Smarter, Not Longer.

About Helene Segura, M.A. Ed., CPO®

As The Inefficiency Assassin™, Time Management Fixer Helene Segura empowers professionals on the go with the tools to slay lost time. Personal inefficiency at work leads to increased stress levels, lower morale, higher absenteeism, more turnover – and rising spending on employee health care and hiring. Why not improve productivity, decrease stress levels, and increase profits instead?The author of four books – two of which were Amazon best-sellers – Helene Segura has been the featured organization expert in more than 200 media interviews. She has coached hundreds of clients to productivity success and performance improvement by applying neuroscience and behavioral modification techniques to wipe out destructive, time-wasting habits.Helene turns time management on its head by sharing both client case studies and pop culture examples to teach her mind-bending framework for decreasing interruptions, distractions and procrastination so that companies can spend more time generating revenue.

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