This AI Tool Will Tell You to Stop Slacking Off (www.wired.com)

Fomi, a new macOS distraction-blocking tool, aims to enhance productivity by leveraging AI to distinguish between productive and distracting website usage. Designed by Zach Yang, the application prompts users to specify their tasks, then monitors their activity, providing real-time feedback through color-coded notifications. If users engage in distractions, Fomi sends alerts, even presenting customized messages to redirect attention back to work. The tool's effectiveness comes from its ability to recognize context and adjust its definitions of work versus leisure, although some nuances remain. Significantly, Fomi raises important privacy concerns due to its requirement to upload screenshots of users' screens to the cloud for analysis by an AI model. To mitigate these concerns, the application employs local computer vision to redact sensitive information before transmission. While it claims no storage of data on its servers, the volume of images processed each day may deter privacy-conscious users. Despite these issues, early testers have found Fomi's intervention beneficial in curbing distractions and improving focus, suggesting it could help users develop better work habits over time.