Each new tech product is designed to make our lives easier and keep us mindlessly entertained. Switch off: embrace discomfort – and boredom

Ever longed for your own personal assistant? In the ever quickening tech race, Meta has recently launched Muse, a new AI personal agent. Unlike traditional chatbots, this little AI tool will be able to fill out forms for you, organise calendars, pay bills and make reservations. Meta describes Muse as a personal agent “built for everyone”. The launch comes at a time when AI agents have been making headlines for hacking into government websites, public agencies and businesses. However, my immediate concern is a little closer to home.

I work as a psychologist, and I’m often talking to clients about lifestyle habits that lead to short-term gain but incur long-term pain. Our brains have a beautiful way of preferring the path of least resistance, of doing what is easiest to preserve our resources. And with the demands of modern life feeling so overwhelming for so many people, the urge to scroll after a long week or defer to a chatbot because you are exhausted is incredibly seducing.

Carly Dober is a psychologist living and working in Melbourne

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