Families are juggling more responsibilities than ever. We've seen technology support many areas of our lives, but family management is still mostly done the old-fashioned way which often leaves us feeling like there's never enough time in the day.
I recently talked with Ellie Windle, Founder and CEO of Persist, about how AI might reshape family life.
Ellie’s career in ad tech, including roles as a GM at MediaMath and VP of Client Success at White Ops (now HUMAN), sharpened her skills in using data and technology to solve complex problems. This combined with being a mother herself gives Ellie a unique vantage point on applying tech to the age-old challenges of family management.
We covered a lot of ground: from understanding how we run our lives, to using AI for tough family decisions, and even rebuilding neighborhood connections. This blog explores how these ideas fit together and could change family life for the better.
Watch the full episode where Ellie walks us through these topics and more:
Most of us have been grappling with the challenges of adult life since, well, becoming an adult. The search for a "life manual" has come up empty.
But what if we created our own personal operating system? It could help us understand why we do what we do and align our actions with our values.
That process could look something like:
You can learn a lot about yourself by going through a process like this - maybe you realize you're spending time on things that don't really matter to you, or neglecting areas that do.
This process will also likely uncover a layer of work that's been hiding in plain sight. Ellie highlighted this in our chat:
"This invisible work is the work of where is our family going? What do we need? What are our values? What needs to happen? And that work is typically done by the woman and thought of as women's work, right? That's not important work."
Invisible labor is all the behind-the-scenes work that keeps a family running. It's the mental to-do list, the planning, and the constant juggling act that often goes unnoticed. This work is essential, but it's rarely acknowledged or quantified.
Awareness is the first step towards sharing household tasks more fairly, but it’s still a challenge.
Ellie introduced the concept of AI digital twins to support here - think of these as super-smart virtual assistants, each an expert in their own field.
"I'd want to hire someone else's digital twin, like somebody who knows a ton about health insurance, somebody who knows every single thing about IRAs or whatever, and say, go find me the best one because you know what good looks like."
These AI experts could help with all sorts of family stuff:
With this at your fingertips, a lot of the guesswork (and stress) could be taken out of family decisions, leaving you more time to enjoy being together. The potential of AI in family life is not replacing human choices, but making them easier and smarter.
Ellie thinks it is possible to bring back that "neighborhood" feel many of us miss with this tech too:
"How could we use AI or automation is basically for people to be able to say, here's what I have. I make meals on Mondays. I go to this location to drop off soccer every day. And I am great at ironing laundry. These are things I can do. And I want meals on Tuesday, Wednesdays."
It's the 2024 version of borrowing a cup of sugar. You could:
Sure this offers a level of convenience, but it also helps build community connections many of us have lost today. And with AI handling the matching and scheduling, it could be pretty seamless and effortless.
As exciting as the possibilities are, Ellie reminds us we can't forget the human side of family life.
"What I want to be really conscious of as we're building this and as I'm just personally using technology is making sure I'm using it in a way that makes my life better, but doesn't take away my life.. I want to live my life."
Here are some ways to strike that balance:
The goal of all this AI assistance isn't to automate our families or outsource our decisions. It's to handle the routine stuff so we can focus on what really matters.
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