Good morning. People who understand artificial intelligence the most, the superusers, are using AI agents to program their life – sometimes getting twice as much done. They are providing a glimpse of a more automated future, and not all of it is good. What does that mean for the rest of us? That’s in focus today, along with plans to save whales and frozen peas.
Up first
In the news
Lawsuit: An heir to the McCain French fry fortune is asking the courts to ensure she gets fair value for a $1-billion-plus stake after failing to sell her holding to an outside investor
Transportation: Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau apologized Thursday, saying he is “deeply saddened” that his lack of French proficiency has distracted from a fatal plane crash
Defence: NATO said that Canada’s military spending has finally hit the alliance’s target of 2 per cent of gross domestic product
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The people who are getting the most out of these developments are not like you and me. They are technically adept, productivity obsessed and love to tinker.Illustration by Daria Lada
In focus
A higher plane of productive existence
Hi, I’m Joe Castaldo, and I write about artificial intelligence for Report on Business.
Every time I open social media these days, I’m stricken with anxiety. To be fair, that’s been true for years, but now there’s additional anxiety about AI. Not a day goes by without the release of a new model or tool, followed by hundreds of breathless comments from tech bros about why everything is about to change. The anxiety is all about getting left behind if I don’t start using AI more often.
A lot of these posts are fishing for engagement, but something is changing with how people use AI. That shift is the subject of my latest feature. AI applications are no longer just answering questions; they can do things autonomously while you do something else. It’s the beginning of a long-awaited move toward AI agents.
I wanted to understand how the most obsessive AI users are experimenting with tools such as Anthropic’s Claude and OpenClaw to automate parts of their personal and work lives.
These people are not like you and me. They’re tasking AI agents with booking appointments and rescheduling meetings, taking phone calls, responding to e-mails and texts automatically, dealing with expense reports and working on to-do lists constantly, in the background, with minimal direction. They can simply text their AI agents to do some menial chore.
It hasn’t always gone smoothly, such as the time one tech chief executive’s AI agent texted his family group chat without permission. There are huge security risks with agents, too.
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I spoke to one user who outsourced parenting work to a custom AI agent he named Hobson, such as asking ChatGPT about BPA-free bottles.Illustration by Daria Lada
One interesting question to arise out of this shift is whether AI agents will free up time for us – or compound work. Nobody I spoke to seemed to be working less, for what it’s worth. And as AI agents become mainstream in the years ahead, I doubt employers are going to allow workers to start taking two-hour lunch breaks. When time opens up, work fills the void.
But a lot of us want AI to give us time back. That’s a key finding from an Anthropic report released this month after interviewing 81,000 people around the world. A health care worker in the United States spoke of drowning in text messages each day; a creative in South Korea lamented how they had no life because of their job. “A family came along, but I lost the time to be with them,” the individual wrote.
Some have achieved liberation, however. “With AI support, I can now leave work on time to pick up my kids from school, feed them and play with them,” wrote a software engineer in Mexico. A developer in Japan said they can finally eat and sleep well.
These answers say less about the supposed glories of AI and more about the broken societal and economic systems we’ve built for ourselves. Something has gone wrong when the only way to eat healthy and spend time with family is salvation by AI. Sadly, that might prove to be the quicker fix.
In the meantime, I want to hear from you. How are you using AI on the job? What has it helped or hindered? Are you more or less stressed? Maybe you have some tips. I don’t want to fall behind, after all.
Charted
Miracles at sea
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Shane Gero’s research, along with other work around the world, has steadily built the case for a complex, caring and intelligent whale culture. From our happiness reporter, read the full story about how the Canadian whale scientist found love and hope – and a lesson for humanity – among the most mysterious creatures on the planet.
Quoted
Of course, I’d prefer to have a smaller deficit. I’d prefer to balance sooner. But we have to live in the world we’re in.
— Peter Bethlenfalvy, Ontario Finance Minister
Ontario is projecting a larger-than-expected $13.8-billion deficit for the coming fiscal year. The province also expects to remain $6.1-billion in the red in 2027-28, but had previously said it expected a surplus that year – becoming the latest in a series of delays in its plans to balance the books.
The budget also outlined the launch of the Protect Ontario Account Investment Fund seeking to shore up key sectors against economic turmoil.
Up next
More files we’re following
Call it off: One of Eldorado Gold’s biggest shareholders urges the board to call off a deal to buy the copper-focused company Foran.
Moving forward: The Senate has approved a budget bill paving the way for Ottawa to launch a promised buyout program for public servants.
Save the peas: Ottawa has launched a rare trade inquiry to protect Canada’s frozen peas and other preserved vegetable producers from overseas competitors.
Up next: We’re watching for Ottawa’s budget balance for January and Canada’s wholesale trade figures for February.
Morning update
Global markets were lower amid uncertainty after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed talks on ending the war were going well and gave Tehran more time to open the Strait of Hormuz, though there have been no signs of Iran backing down.
Wall Street futures were in the red after major North American markets closed down yesterday, with the Nasdaq in correction territory. TSX futures followed sentiment lower.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was down 1.11 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 slid 0.46 per cent, Germany’s DAX declined 1.27 per cent and France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.81 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 0.43 per cent lower, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.38 per cent.
The Canadian dollar traded at 72.19 U.S. cents.
