AI Revolution Reshapes Work: Digital Nomad Now Spends Entire Day Reformatting Docs for No Clear Reason
KIP DUNGWORTH, STAFF REPORTER
CHIANG MAI, THAILAND — In what was supposed to be humanity’s bold leap toward productivity utopia, the artificial intelligence revolution has instead birthed a new kind of professional existential dread: endlessly rearranging bullet points and nudging margins in Google Docs.
Paul M, 34, a digital nomad originally from Manchester and now aggressively based in Chiang Mai’s Nimman neighborhood, enthusiastically embraced AI tools to “free up his creative energy.” Friends say his ambitions now center entirely around repeatedly clicking “justify text,” for reasons not even he can articulate.
“AI gave me more time,” explained Paul, eyes glazed from staring too long into Google Docs' abyss. “Unfortunately, I'm spending that time moving images three pixels to the right, then three back to the left.”
Witnesses described a cycle of instant AI output followed by hours of layout tinkering. The end results: meticulously tweaked PDF files which are summarized by clients via ChatGPT anyways.
“I watched him spend three quarters of an hour deciding between Arial and Calibri,” observed café employee Niran, shaking his head slowly. Then he had to reformat the whole file manually once he made his choice.”
Paul maintains he feels “productive” despite acknowledging zero clear deliverables or deadlines. His day ends around sunset, usually with multiple open tabs labeled "Copy of Final Version," "Final FINAL Copy," and "Actually Use THIS One."
Fellow digital nomads, quietly horrified by his descent, have privately admitted to suffering similar afflictions. “We always thought the robots would take our jobs, but mainly just the parts where we format tables,” one said bitterly.
At press time, Paul had announced a pivot toward becoming a “Google Docs formatting coach,” confidently citing AI as proof his new role would “definitely exist forever.”