Artificial intelligence or AI can sound a scary concept. For some, it reminds me of deep fake images, misconduct and job exchanges, but it's a very useful tool. After all, that's exactly what it is: a tool that is an advance in computer-generated learning.
Computers have once been the end of humanity, but in reality they have helped us become more efficient. It definitely gives us a way to reduce efficiency, but that's another argument.
Today, AI is everywhere. From adjusting the color of your TV to kitchen gadgets that will help you cook meals better, there is no technology product that boasts some of the AI in its operation.
Once it's on fire, a lot of AI is really useful and saves time. Think of it like a more powerful search or a voice assistant who actually acts like a personal assistant.
So instead of creating another package doll version of yourself or rewrite Shakespeare play with Gen Z Speak, try one of these options for size.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
1. Plan your holiday
Holiday planning can be stressful from finding where to go, getting the best prices for flights and accommodations, to daily itineraries. Thankfully, AI can now help with all of this.
You can use either the AI Assistant or ChatGPT search to tell you what holiday you like, when you want to go, and how far you want to travel, and get back on suggestions. Deal-savvy travelers use AI to help them get the best prices on flights and hotels.
Perhaps your favorite use of AI on your trip is because you have checked your destination and considered what to do there. Ask your AI assistant or search for the ideal itinerary for a 4- or 7-day trip and you'll get some great suggestions that you can fine-tune it to your needs. It's also perfect for city breaks when you want to pack as much as possible.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
2. Makes meal preparation easier
Even if you love food, planning our week's worth of meals is trying to come up with new ideas, especially for a noisy family. One feature I like about AI is asking them to come up with some meal ideas to suit my (sometimes noisy) needs.
This is something that most AI assistants or searches can do very easily. Though Amazon has highlighted this as part of its new Alexa+ service. The idea is that since Alexa knows who are in your family and what they don't eat or eat (through previous chats), it can suggest a better list of suitable meals.
Of course, you just need to supply all the information to the AI tool. For example, you can seek out meal ideas for two people that are not fish-free or too spicy. The AI assistant who can say “please give me some options for dinner,” already knows everything, but is pretty cool.
(Image credit: Google)
3. Explain your story or presentation
Adding some visuals to your presentation will help transform something into something truly appealing. Once you reach the clipart, it's easy to find images via the stock library, but it takes time to find the right one.
This is where AI image generation actually becomes useful. While Google Gemini can turn quick sketches into illustrations that look professional, services like Midjourney can generate authentic creations of photos to suit your exact requirements. You can also use ChatGpt, Canva, or Apple Playground to create something based on just a few words.
It doesn't have to be a presentation either. It can also be used as a storyboard tool for children, invite parties, or use it as a storyboard tool for your projects. It's a convenient way to better visualize what you're saying, and that's what AI does best.
(Image credit: Apple)
4. Check your work
AI can create emails and essays from scratch based on some simple prompts. This is suitable for more general tasks, but even more useful is that AI can become its own editor.
Apps like Grammarly have been using AI for some time and have provided suggestions on how to improve your writing. From simple spelling and grammar suggestions to sentence structure and tone, feedback can help you coordinate your work and improve it further.
Apple Intelligence, Galaxy AI and other services all offer options to help you suggest or modify your writing. Easily create sounds for documents, reports, or letters.
(Image credit: Open AI)
5. Get a better answer to your question (search)
Google changed the world of internet search when it was launched in 1998 by providing an easy way to get better results. With AI, questions are much more descriptive and more natural language.
Not only do you enter (or speak) these natural questions into the search page or AI assistant, you've not only got a reply back, but it's no longer a list of websites. ChatGpt will reply to answers based on what you have learned (or search). This will give you a detailed summary.
Google has also moved to providing AI summary to search for requests at the top of the results, but the real magic is to refine those answers even more. With ChatGpt and Google Gemini, you can provide follow-up questions and conditions to improve your answers until you get exactly what you're looking for.
This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to AI, but like a computer, it's just another tool that makes life easier when used correctly.
