When the Clock Stops: Rethinking Time in the Age of AI

As artificial intelligence frees up hours, Those shaping the future of work must ask a harder question: do we know how to use time well — or will we just invent work to fill it?

Guatemalan artist Ángel Poyón captures something we’ve forgotten in Imagined Place nº2 (2022), from the Banco de España collection — a clock made not of gears or numbers, but birds. No tick-tock, no countdown. Just movement, rhythm, and presence. It’s a poetic rebellion against our mechanical obsession with time, and a quiet reminder: nature doesn’t measure time in minutes. It moves in cycles, light, and flow.

This shift began with the Industrial Revolution, which conditioned us to live by the clock. The film Modern Times (1936), by Charlie Chaplin, exposed the toll of this mindset — showing how the rigid, machine-like treatment of time, especially in the workplace, dehumanizes us and quietly erodes our mental well-being.

But a door is opening.

Bill Gates has predicted that a two-day workweek could become a reality within the next decade.

Demis Hassabis, co-founder of DeepMind, envisions a future of “radical abundance,” where Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) — capable of performing multiple tasks at a human level — gives us back time. But realizing that future, he argues, requires a shift in mindset: one that reimagines how we live, work, and relate to time in deeper, more meaningful ways.

If time were suddenly yours, unscheduled and unassigned, would you know what to do with it?

Retirees offer a glimpse of what may lie ahead. While many embrace renewal and learn to simply be, others lose their sense of purpose or gravitate back to old roles — not always by choice, but often due to a lack of preparation for new directions.

As AI frees up time for working generations, a similar challenge looms: more hours, but no clear purpose — risking isolation, or inventing work just to remain caged by the clock.

Now’s the time to invest in activities that build Curiosity & Creativity, Well-Being, and deeper Human Engagement — meaningful pursuits that will grow in value as work time shrinks. A few may even evolve into something monetizable.

AI will free your time — but will you free yourself?

Leaders, Break free from the clock’s cage.
Reclaim your time. Ignite a bold vision for what meaningful time can look like inside your organization.
Transform your life, your work — and the people you lead.

Are you ready to shape what comes next?

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Jose Taboada – Founder of Artcipation | Corporate Strategist

Key Sources: Banco de España exhibition: The Tyranny of the Clock; CBS 60 Minutes interview with Demis Hassabis