Imagine a world, perhaps as soon as the next few years, where artificial intelligence consistently outperforms humans in a wide range of tasks. This era of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) promises to fundamentally alter the fabric of British daily life, from how we receive medical care to how justice is served and how we spend our working hours. By 2035, our domestic routines could look profoundly different.
The AI Doctor's Surgery: Frontline Primary Care
In the healthcare system of 2035, AI has moved far beyond a supporting role. It is now the first point of contact for much primary care. The familiar early morning struggle to get through to a GP's receptionist is a thing of the past. Patients now describe their symptoms to their doctor's AI system, which instantly cross-references the information with the patient's full medical history to provide a pre-diagnosis. This allows the human General Practitioner to make swift, informed decisions on the next steps.
During face-to-face consultations, an AI listens in the background, analysing the case against thousands of medical studies in moments. It can propose treatment plans based on the very latest research, far beyond what any single doctor could digest, acting as a powerful second opinion. Medical screening becomes incredibly sophisticated, potentially using data from wearable devices that track diet and vitals, and even smart toilets that analyse waste, to spot diseases earlier.
Public opinion on this shift is nuanced. An Ipsos poll from October 2025 found that while 52% of people still preferred human interaction for reasons of trust, 38% were in favour of using AI to speed up triage within the NHS. If successful, this system could lead to quicker diagnoses and perfectly tailored medicines. However, it also creates a new dynamic where the best doctors are those most skilled at interpreting AI outputs, forcing medical schools to overhaul their curricula.
AI in the Courtroom: Justice at Speed, But at What Cost?
The justice system is also being reshaped by AGI. Solicitors now delegate the intensive legwork of researching case law and crafting legal arguments to AI assistants. The early problems of AI 'hallucinating' fake cases—which happened at least 95 times in July and August 2025 according to trackers—have been resolved. These robust new systems compress days of work into hours.
Faced with persistent court backlogs, pressure grows to go further. Experiments begin where adversarial AIs argue cases directly before a human judge and jury. The results are compelling in terms of speed and cost reduction for taxpayers. However, this efficiency comes with a significant downside: a wave of miscarriages of justice. Campaigners for the wrongly imprisoned soon demand far greater transparency into the inner workings and potential biases of these AI lawyers, forcing governments into a constant cycle of monitoring and regulating autonomous legal systems.
From 40-Hour Weeks to a Leisure Boom
The impact of AGI on work could be the most socially transformative. In the early years, full automation makes only a few roles redundant. Most white-collar workers stay in their jobs, maintaining a 40-hour week but accomplishing vastly more with AI 'buddies' that coach them in meetings and manage their workflows. As Professor David Shrier of Imperial College Business School explains, these AI agents become customised assistants, learning an individual's needs and acting on them.
This augmentation leads to sharp economic growth, but soon a realisation dawns: people can afford to work much less. The 15-hour work week, predicted by economist John Maynard Keynes back in 1930, finally becomes a reality for many. Leisure industries—sports clubs, live entertainment, and travel—boom, as noted by US mogul Ari Emanuel in late 2025. However, this shift also creates a societal challenge: mass boredom. A generation that derived purpose from now-automated tasks may struggle to adapt, leading to a mixed picture of increased wellbeing for some and mental health difficulties for others.
From the farm, monitored by sensors and AI robots, to the home, where wearable devices like smart glasses pre-empt our needs, life in 2035 will be deeply integrated with super-intelligent systems. The coming decade will test how Britain manages the profound ethical, regulatory, and human challenges of this new AI era.
