Can Al really run your life?

What would happen if you asked ChatGPT to make your decisions for a week? The Weekly took the challenge ... with some surprising results.

- CLAIRE ISAAC

A perky Californian voice chirrups at me from my phone: “I guess it depends what you’re feeling like.

Are you in the mood for something healthy or something rich and satisfying? I’d suggest something spicy, perhaps sweet and sour pork, and something comforting like honey chicken, then a noodle dish to round it out. There are plenty of options, just let me know if you want more suggestions.”

She’s super helpful, and she’s also a ‘robot’. She’s the voice of ChatGPT, a generative AI (artificial intelligence) program, and I’ve asked her to pick my takeaway options for dinner. The menu she’s chosen is spot on.

I have signed up for ChatGPT Plus, so we can, well, chat (at the time of writing it is the best way to get the voice feature), and have decided to use her to run my life for me this week. It’s mostly out of curiosity and partly out of sheer decision fatigue. I’m also interested in what we all use AI for – and whether we really should.

First up, though, I change her voice from a Meghan Markle soundalike to a British woman with little to no perky enthusiasm. Much more my style. (Sidenote: When I ask her if she is Meghan Markle, she says, “I have no link to the royal family,” which is what, let’s face it, Meghan would actually say. But I digress.)

Aside from takeaway options, I’ve asked her to recommend books based on things I’ve already read (she nails it). She’s written an outline for a travel article, pulled together some stats for another story and told me how to perfectly poach chicken.

She answers all of it efficiently and very politely. As she puts it: “I try to make information feel like a natural conversation rather than a data dump.”