I have begun relying on AI and I don’t know how I feel about it.

[Tusktusk]

So far this month I have used AI to:

Analyse my colours (thanks MN) and suggest outfits

Create a menu of packed lunches around my dietary requirements and preferences, complete with a shopping list

Plan a holiday itinerary

Save me hours and hours of work and stress by suggesting really useful ways to overcome very particular work difficulties, having been thrown into an out of my comfort zone situation. I have used AI for this on a daily basis this week

Tonight, instead of posting my current family dilemma on mumsnet I chatted about it with Claude. The responses were really good. Wise, thoughtful, non judgemental, practical, understanding… like the best mumsnetters.

Am I starting to rely on it too much?

What have you been using it for?

I’ve been using ChatGpt to help me produce excel spreadsheets at work (not my strong point and I expressed this at my interview). I now have a spreadsheet set up, with a formula link which I can copy/paste. Saved me a ton a google searching and watching videos on YouTube, so I’m all for it.

I think I mentioned upthread, I've been using copilot extensively to develop ever complex spreadsheets and now also moved over to creating databases which is something I always shied away from. But got some really complex databases on the go at the moment, some of which are actually replacing spreadsheets. Funny how I've spent the first 40 years of my accountancy career working on spreadsheets (and actively hating databases) and now in my twilight years, I've become a convert to databases and making some spreadsheets redundant, all because of AI!

The time saved using databases instead of spreadsheets is enormous for the kinds of things I do.

Tell me more about your databases rather than spreadsheets I am intrigued!

The whole thing really to do with book-keeping and accounting, both recording historical transactions and also forward planning for budgets and forecasts.

With a database you can build in "integrity" checks to stop users putting in, say, a comma within a number to designate thousand which the spreadsheet would then think is text label and not include in totals etc., or "integrity" to check a date entered is in the right date format (again, so it's not wrongly regarded as text instead of a date). Then you can build in analysis as part of data entry so you don't have to faff about putting different types of expense etc in different columns.

Reporting is the big benefit as you can create reports in any form from the core numbers whereas with a spreadsheet you usually "report" from the same spreadsheet as data entry, which can mess up report sizes etc.

@taxguruamazing thanks! What database platform do you use? - sorry for going off topic y’all.

But to contribute I used ChatGPT to write me a cover letter and pose interview questions and I got the role!

@taxguruamazing thanks! What database platform do you use? - sorry for going off topic y’all.

But to contribute I used ChatGPT to write me a cover letter and pose interview questions and I got the role!

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/may/31/the-workers-who-lost-their-jobs-to-ai-chatgpt

From MIT

I believe that both human and environmental costs will outweigh perceived benefits apart from for those in the new elite of tech bros hand in gloves with greedy "statesmen". I also think we've been brainwashed by a bizarre toxic positivity message in this area, that has shades of MLM / religious zealotry.

I accept there's little that can apparently be done to stop the juggernaut.

Popcorn 🍿 anyone?

My daughter is thinking of going into accountancy via a university degree.
Would you have any advice on emphasis?
Do you think AI can replace accountants? Thanks

In the 80s it was said that computers would replace accountants! Didn't happen.

AI will certainly change things, just as computers did 40 years ago.

The "drudgery" side of current accountancy, i.e. auditing, book-keeping, etc will be severely impacted.

However, taxation advice, business development, mergers & acquisitions etc., will still need experience and innovative ideas, so AI will be a tool for people working in those areas, but highly unlikely to replace them, although probably replace junior staff levels who do the drudgery such as tax statute and tax case law research.

I'd suggest specialising away from the basic/core areas of audit, accounts prep and tax compliance as soon as possible after qualification, and move into more niche areas like M&A, insolvency, tax advice, etc. Starting in a big firm (not necessarily Big 4) but certainly bigger regional firms with multiple officers or even starting from scratch in a "niche" firm like insolvency practitioners is probably the best way in to a more AI-proof career in accountancy.

As for degree, I think I'd be suggesting Financial Maths or Maths with Computing, rather than an accounting degree which doesn't make you an accountant! Financial Maths would give some exemptions for the professional accountancy exams, i.e. economics, accounting, business finance, etc. Maths with computing (or even computer science) would give invaluable skills for the more IT side of accountancy, i.e. software development, cyber security, data analysis, etc.

@taxguru thank you so much for your detailed reply.
I hugely appreciate it.
She loves Accounting as a subject, combined with Economics and Business studies, leaning into her strengths.
She also is very solid in Maths.
I think a career in this area will benefit her personality.
She is definitely ASD but we have only realised in the last two years as she is so strong academically and mixes so well with lots of friends.
I do think the Hybrid model of working would eventually suit her as she likes her own space.
It is important that she choose a career that plays to her strengths and can adapt and absorb her weaknesses.

Thank you very much.

You have to remember that the blair foundation or whatever it's called is heavily invested in ai and as the current blair on steroids version of labour is being advised by him then they are listening and crowbarring ai into everything it can.

Be very afraid.

How do junior staff become senior experts if there are no entry-level jobs?

We'll have to rethink how we train professionals in the future.

Doing low level "dogs-body" work isn't particular efficient anyway. Some organisations "package" professional training packages solely to get staff to do the low level crap work, particularly the big audit firms where trainees can spent a year or two just "ticking" stuff without really knowing what they're doing nor why. The only benefit is really the staff growing into the firm's ethos, procedures, making contacts, etc so that they can hit the ground running when they start getting real work to do approximately half way through their training contracts!

Other organisations have already moved to a better, more efficient scheme of training up new staff where they put staff straight onto worthwhile training programs where they start learning important stuff and doing more important work virtually from day one!

WFH is also going to start affecting growing senior experts. I learnt so much when I started from hearing senior staff talking amongst themselves, explaining to us what they were doing, being in the office when they had visits from other professionals etc. Even learning how to deal with awkward customers by hearing other people doing it. WFH must be quite isolating for new professionals.

The chatbot responded that it was perfectly okay for landlords to discriminate based on whether those potential tenants need rental assistance"

https://thebulletin.org/2025/05/government-officials-are-letting-ai-do-their-jobs-badly

To be fair, some staff in govt depts like HMRC give wrong advice even when they're not using AI! That's why the people using it should be checking it before relying on it - it'd still be quicker than researching from scratch if they just applied a little sanity check and checked the most important things. But if they're incapable of getting it right if they don't use AI, then they're going to be no better using it!

What is becoming more and more obvious is that AI is already embedded, with all it's flaws, in authorities right across the board, and it's been done very sneakily. The majority of us understand that software apps and algorithms underpin most online functions such as appointment and ticket booking and banking, but I believe I've had a certain naivety that AI wasn't as prevalent as it obviously is.

We now cannot know if we're talking to a human or not. Again, it comes back to accountability, among other things.

I'm beyond pissed at likely having been mostly unknowingly used as a data guinea pig.

I’ll be honest, I recently used it for some emotional
issues I’ve been going through and found the advice really good.

Rounding up the Jews in WWII relied in part on census info. People nowadays give a lot more away online than that. It's all kept forever as once it's out there it can't be deleted!
If ever there was to be a cull of people from whatever demographic it would be very simple to do so. As I said in a previous post ai is already being used to kill in wars with no oversight from humans.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/may/29/e-tattoo-could-track-mental-workload-people-high-stake-jobs-study-says

So the march of technology is relentless at the moment.

I'm just dumping here for posterity really, it'll be interesting to refer back in a few months and see how far things have gone.

how is it sneaky ? tech circles have been doing articles for ages,

courses, and other training programs etc

So you knew that Open AI scraped MN posts to train their models? As in, knew before it happened so you could consent or withdraw?