A small but significant update caught my attention recently: Google Gemini on Android can now create calendar events in the past. This might seem like a minor feature, but I've been waiting for it for a long time.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Back when the original Google Home was released, I was excited by its promise. As a broke high school student, I hunted on Craigslist for a cheap one, eventually making an hour-long journey near Tampa with my mom to pick one up. The excitement was palpable – this was supposed to be the future.

However, as many of us experienced, these smart speakers didn't quite live up to their promise of getting better over time. In some ways, they regressed. Google Keep integration for shopping lists was replaced with a less capable Google Lists service. Features I hoped for, like Google Voice integration for messaging, never materialized.

The Past Event Problem

One persistent limitation across Google's voice assistants was the inability to create calendar events in the past. While this feature briefly appeared in Google Assistant on phones at some point, it wasn't consistently available. Even when Gemini launched on Android as Assistant's replacement, this functionality was absent.

But now, finally, Gemini can create past calendar events on Android. (see cover image)

Why Create Past Events?

Years ago, I came across a yearly planning notebook filled with detailed daily schedules – meals, appointments, everything. Initially, I wondered, "Who plans their life in such detail?" But I later learned that planners often serve as historical records, not just future planning tools. People retrospectively document their activities to maintain a history of their days.

I've long used my calendar this way, adding events after they occur to maintain a record of my activities. It's gratifying to see Google Gemini finally supporting this use case.

Looking Forward: AI and Task Management

Speaking of AI assistants and task management, I'm wondering about the current state of AI integration in to-do list applications. While creating new tasks through AI/voice is relatively straightforward, I haven't encountered any apps that allow natural language commands for marking tasks complete or updating task descriptions. Given the current capabilities of AI technology, this functionality seems feasible, yet I haven't come across any to-do list applications that implement it. Let me know if you find any solutions that offer this type of AI integration.