Dear AI, Paint Later — Mop My Floors First!

I need AI to save me time on laundry, dishes, and dust bunnies — so I can spend it on my art.

Photo by author

Everyone is worried that AI will take over their jobs in various industries, which I totally get. Meanwhile, after spending yet another hour in the kitchen preparing a proper, healthy lunch for my family, I have just one concern: when will artificial intelligence finally be able to unload the dishwasher, hang up the laundry, or decide what should go on the grocery list?

I’d happily sketch all my digital backgrounds by hand for my toy photography — or do my photoshoots in an actual forest, bribing the fairies to create some magical lighting — if it meant I actually had time for them. Instead, here I am, once again trying to remember if we’re out of toilet paper.

I’ve been playing the game called Optimizing and Automating Our Household for over a decade now, and let me tell you, I hit a whole new difficulty level when our son was born four years ago. I wouldn’t call myself a grandma-level expert just yet, but I’d say I’m pretty seasoned — handling everything fine-ishly. Still, the mental load? Oh, I rant about it on a very regular basis.

Over time, I’ve also become quite skilled at managing random 3 AM anxiety attacks — you know, when your…