ANYTHING I CAN DO, AI CAN DO BETTER...

Or can it? Express writer JANE WARREN surrendered control of her life for a week to discover just how helpful artificial intelligence really is. Prepare to be surprised by her findings

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ANCIENT civilisations dreamed of beings that could act without human control — including golden handmaidens in Greek mythology, described as having human-like understanding and speech.

However, although the idea of a nonhuman personal assistant was science fiction as recently as just a few years ago, since 2020, machine learning has led to an Al boom and a rapid expansion of free generative AI — models capable of generating images, text, music and more.

According to the global management consultants McKinsey & Company, there was a 23-percentage point increase in AI usage in businesses from early 2023 to 2024, with 78% stating they now incorporate it.

But just how reliable is it, and are the free Al models accessible to the public refined enough for day-to-day use?

My children and I decided to live by AI for a week to find out if outsourcing decision-making would save money and time. After only a few days on the system, I’m already £500 a year better off — so how did the rest of the experiment go?

SUNDAY

OUR evening meal is accompanied not by the usual family chat, but by my 16-year-old son Willem having an animated conversation with ChatGPT about the conflict in the Middle East and the ongoing dispute over Western Sahara — all delivered by the AI tool in a friendly, even mildly ironic style, that is remarkably human, even down to the pauses for breath.

"It feels as though I have a university-level tutor available to me in my pocket at all times," says Willem. "It is so engaging, eager to help and accessible, and I use it for everything from gym programming to research about current affairs."

If the AI that I plan to use for my decision-making this week is as switched on as my son’s "personal assistant", this bodes well.

MONDAY