AI companions can manage daily routines, decisions, and emotional cues with relentless attention and expert knowledge, effectively acting as lifelong caregivers. Constant assistance can relieve effortful tasks but may reduce opportunities for autonomy, initiative, and the meaningful struggle that produces growth. The effort paradox shows humans seek effort for purpose and development, and replacing challenges with frictionless solutions risks arrested development. Designing AI caregiving requires balancing care and scaffolding with incentives for curiosity, capability, and independent problem-solving. Policy, design, and personal choice must preserve spaces for effort and practice while leveraging AI's benefits.
You wake to a gentle voice suggesting it's time to get up and, with bleary eyes, scroll through outfit suggestions on your phone. Downstairs, breakfast is waiting. The same voice runs through your schedule and compliments your appearance. You grab lunch-already packed-and get into a self-driving car. As the car pulls out, your phone screen locks. "Now might be a good time to practice your meditation routine," the voice says.
At work, this AI companion proposes a plan, checks on your mood, and encourages you to hydrate. Every time you run into a problem, you ask it for help. After lunch, sensing you're tired, the AI suggests a nap. At 5 p.m., it congratulates you on a productive day and drives you home. Soon, AI may guide us through life with remarkable efficiency, armed with expert knowledge and tireless attention. It won't just assist us; it will take care of us.
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