Summary of Key Points
This article, based on the author's personal experiences, illustrates how AI has profoundly changed the relationship between ordinary people and tools. In the past, we were forced to purchase paid software—either products that restricted the use of AI or those with redundant features that wasted our money. Today, however, AI has lowered the barrier to creating custom tools to almost zero, enabling even non-technical individuals (such as liberal arts students) to develop personalized solutions that meet their specific needs without incurring unnecessary costs. The article emphasizes that while AI is an efficient executor, humans remain indispensable for making critical decisions and diagnosing problems. In the age of AI, what truly matters is not the possession of tools but the ability to know how to use them to solve problems.
Detailed Analysis
The Two Major Pitfalls of Paid Software
Paid software used to have two significant drawbacks:
- Closedness: For example, the author had been using the writing software Ulysses for many years. Although it was stable, its closed architecture prevented AI from accessing the internal data, meaning that the author’s 500,000 words of content could not be used by AI. As a result, the author had to manually export old articles to feed them into the AI, which was a time-consuming and frustrating process.
- Redundant Features: Software like Dato, a calendar app priced at $128, offered features such as a monthly calendar layout that the author didn’t need. Other features, such as schedule management and holiday reminders, were superfluous. Similarly, the BetterDisplay display tool ($139) had advanced settings like brightness and volume control that the author never utilized. In the past, one either had to pay for the full “luxury package” or settle for free alternatives that were less user-friendly.
AI Makes Tool Creation Accessible
AI has greatly simplified the process of creating tools:
- The author used AI to create two simple tools: a minimalistic calendar app called MeunCal and a software for adjusting display brightness called Theia. These tools had exactly the features the author needed and didn’t consume much memory.
- Even smart home functions can be enhanced with AI. For instance, the author wanted to display the status of his washing machine on the iOS lock screen. Previously, this would have required hours of studying English documentation; now, he simply fed the relevant information to AI, which made the necessary changes automatically.
- The author is a liberal arts student with limited technical skills, but AI allowed him to skip the complicated steps involved in developing tools and directly enjoy the process of creating them.
AI as a Helper, But Humans Are Still in Charge
AI is not omnipotent; it relies on human guidance:
- When creating Theia, AI initially used the wrong window components, resulting in an interface that lacked the smooth, “liquid glass” effect characteristic of macOS. Although AI could perform routine checks, the author identified the issue by comparing it with similar software and providing additional instructions. This shows that while AI can handle tasks efficiently, humans are still needed to make critical judgments.
Openness Is Key in the Age of AI
Closed software formats no longer offer significant advantages:
- The author switched from Ulysses to Obsidian because Obsidian uses Markdown, an open text format that allows AI to directly process and utilize files for writing tasks. This integration makes the content creation process much more efficient.
- In the age of AI, tools must be open or provide APIs for AI access; otherwise, they become isolated and less likely to be adopted by users.
The True Value in the Age of AI
The article highlights that the most valuable asset is not the tools themselves but the ability to use AI to solve problems:
- In the past, people competed to have the best tools; now, the focus is on using AI to create tools that solve real problems. For example, the author’s friend eliminated a paid writing tool and created his own, which became increasingly convenient over time.
- The ultimate goal of AI is to empower individuals to use it to solve their own challenges. Those who can think clearly about their needs and use AI to achieve them are the most valuable in this new era.
In essence, this article argues that AI does not replace humans but gives them the power to create their own tools, transforming us from mere users of pre-made software into masters of our own digital environments. As long as we have a need, AI can help us fulfill it—without being confined to products designed by others.