Research shows that people are drained by meetings – and AI tools exacerbate it. A new initiative by Visit Iceland aims to remind you of what matters most.

Is there anything worse than a meeting that really should have been an email? Visit Iceland has a new, albeit quirky, way to combat increasing meeting fatigue. 

Rather than turning to AI tools and notetakers to take your place or keep track of what’s important in meetings, a real, crafty person will show up to listen. The AI Knittakers initiative from Visit Iceland will let you book an authentic Icelandic knitter to join your virtual meeting who will knit a sign with a single word that sums up the meeting, like “align,” “pivot,” “reset,” “huh?” or, my personal favorite, “WTF?” 

Meeting fatigue is real. A December 2023 survey of 5,000 workers found that 78% of respondents said work meetings make it hard for them to get their work done, and 76% said they feel drained on heavy meeting days, highlighting that the growing number of virtual meetings since the COVID-19 pandemic is both ineffective and exhausting. Many stressed-out workers (65%) are now turning to AI notetakers to sometimes attend meetings for them. 

“An AI notetaker hears every word,” said Salka Sól Eyfeld, the program’s chief AI Knittaker. “A knitter hears the sigh. We listen for the one thing that actually matters, and then we knit it.”

The booking couldn’t be simpler: Pick an available Knittaker from the website , book them during a meeting when your schedules align and give your coworkers the surprise of a lifetime while you do something more fun.

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