I Let AI Make My Life Decisions for a Week – Regret or Genius?

Ever felt that crushing weight of decision fatigue? What to eat for dinner? Which route to take to work? What new skill to pick up? Sometimes, I just wish someone—or something—else could just tell me what to do. So, I did something radical. For an entire week, I handed over the reins of my daily life decisions to an AI. Yes, you read that right. From my morning coffee choice to what I watched before bed, an artificial intelligence was my unexpected life coach. Was it a stroke of genius, or a week I’ll forever regret?

The Grand Experiment: Handing Over the Reins

The idea sparked during a particularly overwhelming Monday morning. My usual routine felt stale, my choices predictable. I’d been reading a lot about AI and personal assistants, and a crazy thought popped into my head: what if I truly let one dictate my day? Not just for scheduling, but for genuine, personal decisions?

My setup was fairly simple: I used a combination of a large language model and a custom script I built to feed it context about my goals (general well-being, productivity, trying new things). Each morning, I’d ask it for my plan for the day, and for specific situations, I’d prompt it for a decision. No cheating, no overrides. This was going to be an unfiltered dive into AI-driven living.

Day-to-Day: My AI Overlords in Action

The first day felt… weird. Liberating, but weird. Here are a few standout moments:

The Lunch Dilemma: On Tuesday, instead of my usual salad, the AI suggested I try a new Ethiopian restaurant five blocks away. My initial thought? “That’s a bit far, and I’m not really in the mood.” But I committed. The food? Absolutely incredible, a flavor explosion I’d never have discovered on my own. Point for AI.
The Evening Plan: Wednesday evening, I expected a suggestion for a relaxing show or a book. Instead, my AI told me to spend an hour “learning basic circuitry for fun.” I don’t know the first thing about circuits! I grumbled, pulled up a YouTube tutorial, and actually found it surprisingly engaging, if a little frustrating. Unexpected, but not terrible.
The Productive Break: Mid-afternoon on Thursday, I was dragging. My usual break involved scrolling social media. The AI’s instruction? “Go outside for 15 minutes and identify three different types of trees.” It felt a bit robotic, but I returned to my desk refreshed and genuinely curious about local flora.
The Weekend Surprise: Saturday arrived, and I was ready for an exciting AI-curated adventure. Its suggestion? “Thoroughly clean your bathroom, focusing on grout.” Seriously? This was the “genius” I’d outsourced my life to? It was practical, yes, but hardly inspiring.

The Unexpected Upsides: Where AI Shone

Despite some eyebrow-raising moments, the experiment wasn’t all just mundane chores and forced learning. There were genuine benefits:

Decision Fatigue Vanished: This was HUGE. Not having to deliberate over every small choice freed up so much mental energy.
Novelty and Discovery: The AI pushed me out of my comfort zone, leading to new experiences I’d never have sought out myself (like Ethiopian food or tree identification).
Productivity Boosts (Sometimes): For tasks it deemed necessary, the AI was relentlessly efficient, often suggesting the optimal time or method.
Breaking Routines: It shattered my predictable patterns, which was oddly refreshing.

The Glitches and Gripes: Where Human Won

However, it wasn’t a utopian week of seamless AI guidance. There were definite downsides:

Loss of Autonomy: The biggest drawback. Not having a say in my own day, even for small things, started to feel incredibly restrictive. My inner rebel flared up.
Lack of Emotional Context: The AI couldn’t sense my mood. It might suggest a high-energy activity when I was feeling low, or a quiet one when I craved excitement. It lacked empathy.
Uninspiring Choices: While some suggestions were insightful, others were just… bland. The bathroom cleaning debacle was a prime example of an algorithmically “optimal” but personally unexciting choice.
Feeling Like a Robot: Following instructions without question made me feel less human, more like a cog in a machine. Spontaneity and personal intuition were sidelined.

Regret, Genius, or Something Else Entirely?

So, was it regret or genius? Honestly, it was neither, and a bit of both. I don’t regret the experiment; it was incredibly insightful. But was it genius? No, not for a whole week of handing over my entire life. The AI certainly showcased flashes of brilliance, especially in optimizing certain tasks or pushing me to try new things.

However, it utterly failed in understanding the nuanced, emotional, and often illogical aspects that make us human. My personal AI assistant was a powerful tool, but a terrible master. It highlighted the invaluable role of intuition, personal desire, and the joy of spontaneous choice that algorithms simply can’t replicate. Human judgment, even if flawed, brings richness to life.

My Takeaways: Integrating AI Wisely

This week-long dive into AI-driven decision-making taught me a lot about how artificial intelligence fits into our lives. Here are my key takeaways:

AI for Mundane Tasks: Delegate those repetitive, low-stakes decisions (like finding the optimal route, scheduling, or suggesting a recipe based on ingredients you have).
Leverage AI for New Ideas: When you’re stuck in a rut or need creative inspiration, AI can be a fantastic brainstorming partner, offering novel perspectives.
Never Surrender Intuition: Your gut feeling, your emotional state, your personal desires – these are uniquely human and shouldn’t be overridden by an algorithm.
Maintain Control: AI should be a powerful assistant, not a substitute for your own agency. Use it as a tool to enhance your life, not to dictate it.

My week with AI as my life decision-maker was an eye-opening journey. It showed me the immense potential of artificial intelligence to streamline and even enrich our lives, but also highlighted the irreplaceable value of human autonomy, emotion, and intuition. We’re still the ones in the driver’s seat, and I, for one, am happy to be back there. Have you ever considered letting AI make your daily choices? What do you think would happen?