We are living through a strange moment in history.
AI can now write our emails, answer messages, make calls, schedule meetings, and increasingly interact with people on our behalf.
And that's remarkable. We are told it will give us something incredibly valuable: time.
But what happens when we start outsourcing not just our tasks, but our relationships?
Today, AI can help us write a message. Tomorrow, it might have the conversation for us.
It can remind us of someone's birthday. Eventually, it could send the message, choose the gift, and arrange the celebration without us ever getting involved.
And then comes the absurd scenario:
"AI, can you take my partner on a date this Friday? I'm too busy."
It sounds ridiculous. But it raises a serious question: where do we draw the line between assistance and replacement?
When effort has meaning
Some things are valuable precisely because they require our time and attention.
Calling a friend, listening when we're tired, remembering an important moment, or simply showing up aren't valuable because they're efficient. They're valuable because they communicate: you matter enough for me to spend part of my limited life on you.
If AI removes all the effort from these interactions, we may gain convenience while losing some of what made them meaningful.
AI can absolutely make our lives better. It can eliminate tedious work, accelerate learning, and help us accomplish things that were previously impossible.
The question isn't whether we should automate.
It's what we should automate.
There is a difference between automating a spreadsheet and automating a friendship.
Perhaps the real risk isn't that AI will become too intelligent.
Perhaps it's that we'll become too comfortable letting it do the things that were never meant to be optimized.
So instead of only asking:
"How much can AI do for us?"
Maybe we should also ask:
"What should we never stop doing for ourselves?"