I keep catching myself noticing that AI is running somewhere or other these days—when writing emails, sorting photos, in the search engine, and even in the washing machine. Some of it is practical; other things feel more like “AI because they can put it on the label.”
As a test, I set up a small local AI assistant on an older computer. It’s not particularly fast, but it’s enough for short texts, file searches, and summaries. The advantage: the data stays at home. The downside: setup and power consumption are not insignificant, and with some answers you quickly realize that the machine is simply making a convincing guess.
Even with completely everyday devices, I find myself wondering whether the supposed intelligence really adds anything. Heating controls, robot vacuums, circulation pumps, cameras, or routers—sometimes, in my experience, a good schedule is more reliable than some kind of learning algorithm.
How do you use AI in everyday life? Do you tend to use ChatGPT & Co., local models, or the features built into your devices? And do you have a use case where AI actually noticeably saves you time or frustration?
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