I’ve decided to compile a list of AI things that are taking over my life and my bank account. I’m also hugely disappointed in Apple, Google, and Microsoft for falling so far behind despite their AI “offerings.”
Image Creation
Over the years I’ve sourced images for a variety of activities, including this blog, from many places and even paid to acquire an image or the use of it but I’ve stopped doing that with AI.
My go to image creation AI sites as of January 2025:
ChatGPT / Dall-E
I think Dall-E creates the best oil painting type images some of which you see on this blog. I prefer this image creator because it seems to know exactly the type of image I want without having to provide too much detail in the word prompt. If I ask Dall-e to produce an image of a pumpkin patch, it seems to know what is in my mind when I request it and produces nearly exactly what I wanted like magic. Here is an image of fruit and decanters.
Leonardo.AI
For photographic realism and ultra-creative images, Leonardo AI is my go to AI tool. It produces amazing images of very high quality however I often have to be very specific and long winded to get something even close to what I was thinking. Each generation uses up credits so that’s the main reason it’s my backup. Here is a photo of a woman 100% AI generated.
There are many other image generators but I’ve not liked any of them except these two. I even tried Amazon’s new AI image generator but it was very disappointing.
Music
I was a fan of UDIO until I discovered Suno.com then decided to switch. I’ve now “written” dozens of songs on Suno and I’m just blown away by it’s capabilities. I no longer use music from other sources for my personal videos because I am able to create custom songs specifically for what I need.
- I’ve written songs about a father and son trip to Europe.
- I’ve written songs about my daughter growing up from a little girl to a woman.
- I’ve written songs about the love of my life.
The best part is they are free, copyright free and I can use them however I damn please. Suno now eats more of my time and budget because I’m building a library of songs that relate to my life, family, friendsd and hopes & dreams. Is any musician out there going to do that for me?
Video Generation
The next evolution from music is video generation. I’ve tried Sora and a few others but they are still very rough but it’s only a matter of time when we’ll be able to create our own full length feature films. I wont have to pay actors, lighting engineers, costume designers, catering crews, special effects, etc. According to Chatgpt, blockbuster feature films require 1,000 people to produce a film but AI can do it for a few electrons of electricity. I can’t post video here as it will eat up lots of bandwidth but here’s a screen shot of a floating galaxy in a downtown scene. The viewer races down toward the galaxy as the galaxy rotates. It’s cool but not film worthy…yet.
Presentations & Productivity
The best AI tool that has boosted my productivity for presentations is something called Napkin.
Napkin AI
Napkin allows you to brainstorm or enter your own ideas and then create info-graphics for your information. I asked Napkin to give me a list of things to write about it then created this info-graphic in seconds. Of course, you can customize the style, colors and other aspects of the graphic in seconds too.
Knowledge Base
I didn’t realize how useless google search had become until I started using ChatGPT. I get the instant answer I want and not have to wade through hundreds of ads or crap responses. It was hard at first to break the google habit but after a few frustrating searches, I just use ChatGPT.
I’ve used AI to plan vacation trips.
I’ve used AI to simulate wading through social security and medicare pitfalls.
I’ve used AI to give me ideas for investing a three bucket portfolio.
AI has caused me to panic and gave me anxiety.
I’ve used AI to perform analysis on asset classes.
I’ve used AI as a potential financial advisor.
I’ve used AI as a philosopher into deep questions about the purpose of humans.
Finally, AI made me realize that AI is the number 1 skill to have right now.
Far More
I’ve used AI for far more things I won’t get into on this personal finance blog but it has helped tremendously in all aspects of my life.
I am aware of many people now typing their symptoms into AI systems and getting far more accurate diagnosis with words than most doctors do with dozens of expensive tests and guesses.
I am aware of many people now using AI as their priest/pastor/cleric/rabbi over their human equivalent because AI won’t judge or question them, just provide answers or guidance.
I am aware of people using AI as a philosopher/teacher to help them understand the world better.
I do wonder when the golden age of AI will end. How long before it’s full of ads or your inputs are sold to third party marketers to harvest your information and sell you crap products? Enjoy it while it lasts….
Share The Wealth
If you aren’t on the AI bandwagon yet, what’s holding you back? Let me know in the comments below.