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Hi Reader!

Over the past few months I have been intentionally experimenting with different ways to incorporate AI into my daily life. Some of them are very helpful, others, not so much (see my fails below)!

There is no question that AI tools like Gemini and ChatGPT can improve productivity and access to information, but it’s not exactly the “magic wand” 🪄 that we were promised.

As I reflect on the ways that AI is helping me, I have to admit that my opinion and perspective is shifting a bit.

I use both Google Gemini and ChatGPT on a daily basis. I frequently use both of these AI engines for the same task to see which one is more effective. While I have premium access to both services, all of the examples below can be done with a free account.

1. Homework help – I have two high school students taking physics this year. It’s been a long time since I took physics, so I frequently turn to Gemini to remind me how to convert kg into newtons.

Based on my experience, I have been forced to adjust my understanding of what it means to “cheat” with AI. If a student is honestly trying to learn, AI can act like a tutor, guiding you past roadblocks that might otherwise stop the learning process. If a student is lazy, using AI is no different from copying the right answer to the odd problems in the back of the book. It's all about intention.

2. Turning a list of bullet points into a paragraph of descriptive text – I find writing with AI can be frustrating, but this is one strategy that works quite well.

BONUS: I also had success asking Gemini to turn one of my YouTube videos into a blog post!

3. Advanced spreadsheet formulas – I’m not a natural spreadsheet user, but AI has helped me generate complex formulas for several big projects. Like my interactions with physics problems, I am learning a lot about advanced formulas from these interactions.

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4. Understanding my property tax assessment – I just got my 2025 property tax assessment and my taxes went up. 😥 I took a photo of the assessment summary and asked Gemini to analyze it and explain why there was an increase in my tax bill (inflation).

Tip: Install the Gemini or ChatGPT app on your phone so that you can utilize your camera to upload a photo. This feature is now FREE for both services.

5. Edit a PDF – Someone sent me a PDF that I needed to edit. I dropped it into Gemini and it was able to convert the read-only file into an editable Google Doc! The integration of Gemini with Docs, Gmail, and Calendar is a great advantage to using Gemini.

Three ways AI has failed me:

While there are lots of helpful ways to use AI, there are some tasks that it struggles to complete. Here are my top AI failures.

1. Font identification – I uploaded a screenshot from a website in hopes that I would be able to find out the font that was used. I got some generic results (serif font), but not the specific name of the font. 😥

2. Data analysis – Gemini is much better with words than numbers. I still have trouble with data analysis tasks. ChatGPT does a much better job. Granted there are better tools for data analysis, but It would be nice if I could do some basic analysis with Gemini.

3. Longer written content – I’ve attempted to use Gemini and ChatGPT to write full length blog posts with mixed results. Eventually, I do get something useful, but it takes a lot of drafting and re-writing. I’m not sure there is any time savings when I partner with AI on a longer piece of content (like email which is 100% human generated 😃).

What are your AI wins?

What real-world applications for AI have you discovered? I’m confident that AI is here to stay and will have an impact on productivity, but I think the end result will be a little different than we anticipated.

I don’t think AI will take over the world or eliminate human effort and creativity. Based on my experience, success with AI requires knowledge and insight that is unique to the person behind the keyboard.

John R. Sowash

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