I’ve been watching people in the US try things with Muse – and now dots – while sitting here in Europe checking what we’re actually allowed to use.
Another demo. Another app-store search. Another wait.
Europe feels stuck in permanent fast-follower mode. The regulatory landscape doesn’t exactly help that feeling. New tools appear across the Atlantic while we’re checking what scrambled over the dry-stone walls.
I’d quite like to try the future rather than watch someone else’s screen recording of it.
Then I got access to Instinct.
Which immediately presented a different problem. Where do I start? What do I actually ask it to do?
Apparently you can be impatient for access and nervous about using it. Excellent. Another contradiction for the collection.
I’m a bit risk averse. Connecting my email and calendar makes me twitchy. Letting something near my money? I don’t think so.
So I started with ordinary life. We talked through a family trip. Flying versus driving. When? Where? The sort of decision that still needs actual family input, unfortunately. No app has removed that particular meeting.
Then there was a shed load of paper for my wife’s bookbinding business. We discussed how to get it organised for the accountant. Less science fiction. More receipts.
But the proper test was the car.
Could it book an MOT and service at our local garage? Check the price first. Find an early drop-off. Use my email for the confirmation without needing access to my inbox.
I checked the service history. We settled on an MOT and full service. I approved the booking before it went ahead.
Then the garage website hung.
Of course it did. All this talk about the future and we’re staring at a processing spinner. A reassuringly traditional internet experience.
Instinct didn’t submit again and risk a duplicate. I checked my email.
The confirmation had arrived.
Booked.
That was the first time I’d had an agent book anything for me. Not suggest a garage. Not give me a list of links and quietly hand the job back. Not give me random ideas about fixing it myself with a shopping list pre-made at Amazon. Actually make the booking.
I still haven’t connected my email or calendar. No online payment step appeared. This wasn’t a test of handing over my finances, and I’m not pretending it was.
But it was a start. One real job, with a price checked and a decision kept in my hands.
I’m going to try more things before declaring undying love for the technology. I do like the simple WhatsApp interface (you can also use iMessage or good ol’ email). No coding or baffling interface needed here. Am still skeptical of the privacy and whatnot.
For now, the car is booked in. Let’s see if it sticks when I turn up in a couple of weeks.
Turns out my first taste of the future was an MOT. Glamorous stuff.
I have 5 invites. Drop me a comment on Linked In or on the website with your ideas of how you’d use Instinct better than booking an MOT and I’ll send you an invite link.
In the meantime, I’ll keep waiting...
