I travelled by plane to France last week to set up our apartment for the season. I again upgraded to business class to benefit from the advantages I explained in my blog Reducing Hassle at Work. These include fast track check in at Heathrow which if you have bags avoids an hour’s queue. However, this time I was the beneficiary of a cacophony of unsolicited and largely unhelpful online noise related to my travel generated no doubt by some AI engine.
Here are some examples.
AI and the current way news is pushed at us and exaggerated in this way is both helpful and annoying. Like the weather warnings of storms in Surrey or wherever you live which pop up on your phone but rarely materialise in any severe form. As a result of the predicted hassle at Heathrow, I moved my taxi earlier. I need not have bothered. The work on the check in was Monday to Thursday only - which to be fair the notification did say in the small print – but it did not draw this to my attention even though it seemed “to know” I was travelling on a Sunday. The flight also did not depart from the satellite terminal - in fact this particular flight rarely does. I reserved and paid for a seat at the front of the plane and at Nice Airport was third off and almost ran to passport control - where there was no queue whatsoever! Once I presented my passport the right way round it was quicker than the old system. Leaving was also reasonably fast. The planes there and back also seemed to have enough fuel as they made the journey both ways.
AI and its associated information and newsfeeds can easily result in this sort of overload. It reminds me a bit of an over eager junior professional rushing to please a client or speed up a transaction. The result is often too much information including incomplete or irrelevant work. Decisions then get taken precipitously which are later regretted or are at the very least counterproductive. I have been using AI like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and its underlying search engine Bing for some time and just started trying Claude. I find these very useful in my personal and professional life, but they need careful direction and management rather like the younger professional learning the ropes - if he or she can find a job which has not been replaced by an AI engine in order to do this!
So how can we as professionals filter all this (sometimes helpful and at times annoying or downright wrong) electronic data and information which is constantly being pushed at us? It is after all as demanding and complex in our working as in our personal lives if not more so. I certainly find this running my consultancy practice and letting out our French property. It seems to me we need an electronic amanuensis (I have long wanted to use this word!) performing the tasks that secretaries and PA’s used to do managing our calendar and daily contacts and organising our busy daily lives. It used to be as important to know and get on with your boss’s secretary as the man or woman themself!
I know that there are lots of discrete ways we can use AI to help us in our work such as:
1. Intelligent scheduling and time-blocking
2. Streamlined communication and meeting management
3. Automated project and task management
4. Research and document synthesizing
5. Task automation.
However, I propose we need to go beyond this and use a thief to catch a thief as it were and have our own personal dedicated AI assistant we can talk to which filters all the unwanted noise and provides only the information and assistance we want and need that is relevant to our particular professional lives. To some extent this capability exists and is reasonably helpful. I tried asking ChatGPT: “I need to go for Nice on a business trip with the least hassle possible travelling out on a Sunday morning and returning on a Saturday a week later. Please provide me with the options and when I agree organise everything for me”. It did come up with a sensible range of proposals for travel and car hire, though it was a bit on the expensive side. What it could not yet do is book anything for me. It also would need to know more about my personal circumstances to be truly helpful. And it would not block out the unwanted AI chatter.
This 2024 article A complete guide on AI-powered personal assistants with examples explains the key features such as Natural Language Understanding observing that “Bill Gates has commented that soon, everyone will have their very own personal assistant through Artificial Intelligence (AI). He believes that as Information Technology develops and improves, we’ll move away from having separate apps for specific functions, and we’ll be able to vocalise to our devices what to do.” It identifies leading AI powered personal assistants and explores use cases and concludes that “the acceleration of AI personal assistants, including AI assistant devices, is reshaping our professional and personal lives, offering transformative benefits”.
Coming more up to date see this useful April 2026 article AI Personal Assistant: We Tested The 10 Best Apps (Free & Paid). Although written by one of the providers Saner it is reasonably informative and objective. It proposes that there are “Two Types of AI Personal Assistants
It then carries out a comprehensive review proposing that “The best AI Personal Assistants are: Saner.AI, ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, OpenClaw, Pi, Motion, Akiflow, and Reclaim.” and concludes:
It still however seems to me we have quite a long way to go to replace that efficient, friendly and effective PA – who if you asked nicely might even get you a coffee!
In this context generally I like this Forbes article 12 Quotes About AI—And How It Makes Us Better which include:
“AI won’t replace humans, but humans who use AI will replace those who don’t”--Sam Altman, CEO, OpenAI.
“AI is about amplifying human potential, not replacing it”— Fe-Fei Li, professor, Stanford University.
“AI is not a robotic apocalypse; it’s a tool for a better future”— Demis Hassabis, co-founder and CEO of DeepMind.
As a parting thought there were very good reasons why The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, created so presciently by Douglas Adams many years ago and containing a plethora of information about travelling around the entirety of the known universe, had the words “DON’T PANIC” inscribed “in large friendly letters on its cover”.
Here are some examples.
- The business class check in was closed for refurbishment
- The flight departed from the satellite gates at Terminal 5 which adds 20 minutes to the transit time.
- My travel to the airport would be affected by the closure of the London Piccadilly tube line. Not particularly relevant as I was travelling by taxi from Surrey!
- Constant updates on the day of flying from something called Microsoft Live Activities about my and other flights I had no interest in at all.
- The new biometric immigration system for non-EU citizens would mean 3-hour queues at immigration in Nice, and leaving would take so long I might miss my flight.
- European airlines would run out of aviation fuel in a matter of days because of the crisis in the Straits of Hormuz.
AI and the current way news is pushed at us and exaggerated in this way is both helpful and annoying. Like the weather warnings of storms in Surrey or wherever you live which pop up on your phone but rarely materialise in any severe form. As a result of the predicted hassle at Heathrow, I moved my taxi earlier. I need not have bothered. The work on the check in was Monday to Thursday only - which to be fair the notification did say in the small print – but it did not draw this to my attention even though it seemed “to know” I was travelling on a Sunday. The flight also did not depart from the satellite terminal - in fact this particular flight rarely does. I reserved and paid for a seat at the front of the plane and at Nice Airport was third off and almost ran to passport control - where there was no queue whatsoever! Once I presented my passport the right way round it was quicker than the old system. Leaving was also reasonably fast. The planes there and back also seemed to have enough fuel as they made the journey both ways.
AI and its associated information and newsfeeds can easily result in this sort of overload. It reminds me a bit of an over eager junior professional rushing to please a client or speed up a transaction. The result is often too much information including incomplete or irrelevant work. Decisions then get taken precipitously which are later regretted or are at the very least counterproductive. I have been using AI like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and its underlying search engine Bing for some time and just started trying Claude. I find these very useful in my personal and professional life, but they need careful direction and management rather like the younger professional learning the ropes - if he or she can find a job which has not been replaced by an AI engine in order to do this!
So how can we as professionals filter all this (sometimes helpful and at times annoying or downright wrong) electronic data and information which is constantly being pushed at us? It is after all as demanding and complex in our working as in our personal lives if not more so. I certainly find this running my consultancy practice and letting out our French property. It seems to me we need an electronic amanuensis (I have long wanted to use this word!) performing the tasks that secretaries and PA’s used to do managing our calendar and daily contacts and organising our busy daily lives. It used to be as important to know and get on with your boss’s secretary as the man or woman themself!
I know that there are lots of discrete ways we can use AI to help us in our work such as:
1. Intelligent scheduling and time-blocking
2. Streamlined communication and meeting management
3. Automated project and task management
4. Research and document synthesizing
5. Task automation.
However, I propose we need to go beyond this and use a thief to catch a thief as it were and have our own personal dedicated AI assistant we can talk to which filters all the unwanted noise and provides only the information and assistance we want and need that is relevant to our particular professional lives. To some extent this capability exists and is reasonably helpful. I tried asking ChatGPT: “I need to go for Nice on a business trip with the least hassle possible travelling out on a Sunday morning and returning on a Saturday a week later. Please provide me with the options and when I agree organise everything for me”. It did come up with a sensible range of proposals for travel and car hire, though it was a bit on the expensive side. What it could not yet do is book anything for me. It also would need to know more about my personal circumstances to be truly helpful. And it would not block out the unwanted AI chatter.
This 2024 article A complete guide on AI-powered personal assistants with examples explains the key features such as Natural Language Understanding observing that “Bill Gates has commented that soon, everyone will have their very own personal assistant through Artificial Intelligence (AI). He believes that as Information Technology develops and improves, we’ll move away from having separate apps for specific functions, and we’ll be able to vocalise to our devices what to do.” It identifies leading AI powered personal assistants and explores use cases and concludes that “the acceleration of AI personal assistants, including AI assistant devices, is reshaping our professional and personal lives, offering transformative benefits”.
Coming more up to date see this useful April 2026 article AI Personal Assistant: We Tested The 10 Best Apps (Free & Paid). Although written by one of the providers Saner it is reasonably informative and objective. It proposes that there are “Two Types of AI Personal Assistants
- Work-focused assistants are built to integrate directly with your tools - like calendars, emails, notes, and docs. They offer a workspace where you can actually get things done, not just talk about them.
- Chat-focused assistants, like ChatGPT or Gemini, are mostly built around a chat interface. You have to manually upload files or paste notes to give them context, which makes them less seamless for everyday workflows.”
It then carries out a comprehensive review proposing that “The best AI Personal Assistants are: Saner.AI, ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, OpenClaw, Pi, Motion, Akiflow, and Reclaim.” and concludes:
- Need help organising thoughts, remembering tasks, and planning your day? Try Saner.AI - it’s made for people juggling messy info from everywhere.
- Need help writing, thinking, or summarising? ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are powerful conversational partners.
- Just want a low-pressure space to think out loud or talk it through? Pi gives you that calming space.
It still however seems to me we have quite a long way to go to replace that efficient, friendly and effective PA – who if you asked nicely might even get you a coffee!
In this context generally I like this Forbes article 12 Quotes About AI—And How It Makes Us Better which include:
“AI won’t replace humans, but humans who use AI will replace those who don’t”--Sam Altman, CEO, OpenAI.
“AI is about amplifying human potential, not replacing it”— Fe-Fei Li, professor, Stanford University.
“AI is not a robotic apocalypse; it’s a tool for a better future”— Demis Hassabis, co-founder and CEO of DeepMind.
As a parting thought there were very good reasons why The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, created so presciently by Douglas Adams many years ago and containing a plethora of information about travelling around the entirety of the known universe, had the words “DON’T PANIC” inscribed “in large friendly letters on its cover”.
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