But that promise is not always framed. However, AI believes this will change. So I decided to run a little experiment. We asked industrialists, startup founders, filmmakers, creatives and comedians one simple question.
Here are edited excerpts from these conversations.
RPG Group Chairman Harsh Goenka
If AI can really give you more time, I'll use it to be something the machine will never replace: human connections and reflections. In the corporate world, countless hours are spent on processes, data and everyday decisions.
If AI can free me from it, I will spend the extra time leading young leaders to mentor and build with integrity and purpose. I want to spend more time fostering creativity, empathy and value. The quality cannot be generated by algorithms.
I also spend my time on art, literature and spirituality that enriches my soul as well as my mind. Ultimately, AI may give us efficiency, but how we use that gift defines our humanity.
Prasoon Joshi, poet, songwriter, CEO & CCO, McCann WorldGroup India
Time – or free time is like flexible clay for me. It transforms into a story, an idea, a poem or lost insight. If more and more AI takes care of mechanically, I want to spend more time on my own. That's an unexpected hidden place – half a poem, long walks, silence that stretches past deadlines. The beauty of free time is that ideas are wrong. And when an idea cheates, magic happens. Doodles become logos, shower ideas become scripts, and aimless walks hit the song.
It's been a time saving. I hope instead that the naughty mind will be freed and produce child pranks.
Rajan Anandan, MD, Peak XV & Surge
I'm always trying to learn about topics that interest me and am in a “constant research mode.” Search at least 50 of the AI tools per day before they are announced. AI changed the game and dramatically accelerated research. What once took 30 minutes or hours can take several minutes with tools like Gemini or ChatGpt.
The interesting irony is that the time I'm saving is back to learning more about AI itself. From books and reports to podcasts and videos, I've been digging deep into the latest developments in AI across the domain. I also picked up making fun videos in my spare time with Invideo.
Film director Shakun Batra
Certainly, AI may help us move faster in some areas, but I don't think saving time is the core value of AI. That could certainly be a feature. But what is the real promise? I think that's about possibilities.
The possibility of trying something you feel is out of reach.
Experiment without any major risks. Create without waiting for permission or budget.
And more than that, it's an opportunity to rethink how we use our time. Because when busy work becomes easier, there is a different kind of space left. And it can be uncomfortable.
We all built our days in interaction, accomplishment and production.
So when it starts speeding up or shrinking… what fills the gap?
What do you feel is meaningful?
What do I want to spend time on not only finishing something but feeling connected to it?
Recently I have been thinking that maybe my purpose isn't just from work.
It may also come from slowing down enough to see what else is there. I find myself spending time with people I care about, reading without end goals, and telling me the past in a normal hurry.
Maybe that's something I want to spend more time.
Don't do anything more – but what I feel is more present in what I already do.
Arnab Banerjee, MD, Ceat Tyres
I am an early adopter of Copilot. An email that could be sent without hitting your eyelids takes some iterations perfectly, as Copilot is so sophisticated.
The presentations made on the board use Ghibli-style images. There were several monthly operational reports and team members got a lot of time before I responded. Now I respond with Jiffy with an overview. I'm waiting for an improvised response from the other end, or perhaps from the confusion.
With so much time available, I was able to see the vision and strategy. But rapid engineering quickly develops vision and strategy. I'm thinking about golf for networking. However, visual inspection of my swing led to the verdict that I would rather rely on an air guitar.
As a last resort, I am thinking of getting lost in the great Himalayas – I trek through a peak of 6,000'+ to convince myself that I still have within myself. However, my gait analysis shows that I am not enough to take the medicine from my nearest chemist.
The other day my boss called me and asked me how I was reusing myself now that I had so much time. Smart, I'm going to him how about you? I heard a disappointing voice saying, “Catching up with the drink.”
Devaiah Bopanna, co-founder of Moonshot
Well, in my free time, I'll take whatever AI gives me, refine it and try to make it less artificial and less human. Then I spent more time on what it gave me and wasted so much in the process that I might have done it myself in less time.
But every month, I feel like I'm approaching perfect AI output as I see progress. Hopefully, in one of the recent ones, I'll easily put the keys in, give the right prompt, and get a fully written ad script that can be sold.
And what would I do if that happened? Well, it doesn't give me free time as I take on more work and make more cash afterwards complaining about how ads are treadmills.
Rishabh Shroff, partner, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas
For lawyers, every hour, currency is currency. We live (and sometimes die) by the tyranny of the clock. When AI takes away meaningless administrators, the critical li li f li f -ti ng of resea ry roti (returns are invested) of rCH, drafting and due diligence rises significantly.
More efficient work means “higher margins”, more time for profitable thinking: adjusted judgments, strategies, and client advice. Working at the same time has better returns and client impact. We believe this will actually happen on new legal AI platforms that are actually onboard.
Also, the extra time means that you can improve your personal roti. Practice that actually feeds my soul – reads real books instead of briefs, delves deep into intriguing family business case studies, and, most importantly, levelling my obsessions.
Tarun Mehta, CEO, Ather Energy
If everything goes well, Friday's reviews and data analysis will continue to be shorter and I will return home in time for counter strike or a catann with a friend.
Kunal Bahl, co-founder of Snapdeal
The true promise of AI is not only an efficiency, but a gift of time. As an entrepreneur, much of my energy depends on solving operational challenges. If AI can take over something repetitive and everyday, it creates spaces for everyday imagination, creativity, and building long term, rather than being consumed on a daily basis.
But the bigger promises are even more personal. It's time with family. It is invaluable to switch from the grind and show up completely for my kids, take long walks with them, discover new cities together without distractions. If AI helps to regain both creativity and existence, it has the greatest impact.
sumukhi Suresh, comedian, actor, writer
As a writer, one of the things I do is put off. So if the promise of AI is to free up more time for me, I wish you good luck because I don't have time. All time is wasted until the deadline sword takes me.
My suggestion for AI is to become my class monitor and lock my time. That unlocks my efficiency. Make sure you haven't read Harry Potter 1,000 times. There is no re-viewing of modern-day families. Don't reply to all messages (especially in spam messages. Why do I have to reply to someone with a credit card saying “Don't steal your credit”?).
If AI can distract me and push me towards a deadline, I might get what I really want.
Fashion designer Rahul Mishra
If AI gives me extra time, I'll be happy to exchange land time and screen time. I would like to muddy my hands with organic farming, such as growing vegetables, fruits, and perhaps forgotten grains.
And when I'm not outdoors, I want to be in the kitchen, make traditional Indian sweets, learn recipes slowly, learn jaggery and ghee instead of taking shortcuts. For me, both agriculture and mitai making are acts of crafts like fashion. They celebrate time, details and joy.
If AI takes care of a routine, I spend “bonus time” and develop sweetness. It's literally. You can create your own “Mishra Misthan Bhandar”
Gazal Arag, co-founder of Mummer Earth
Once AI can free time, I want to go back to my first love, painting. You spend hours creating art without distractions. And of course, I use that extra time to stay with my family and kids and soak in the most important moments.
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