Real things everyday people got it to do, and how to try them yourself.
A random mix from the whole library. Shuffle for a new set.
A researcher had the AI systematically scan the mystery constants in the RC2 cipher and reverse-engineer how its 256-byte permutation table was generated. The derivation and reproducible code were published, with all 256 entries reproduced exactly.
A Genworth alternatives analyst built a SharePoint-based credit surveillance agent in an AI app Studio. It reviews more than 1,000 documents across 250-plus fund investments and surfaces trends, risks and upside from completed deep reviews.
Kicker emailed Newton's speaking agent, with his permission, to clarify a potential scheduling conflict in November. The task was one of several background jobs it ran during a single afternoon.
He is letting the AI run his websites, with him watching over it. Two days in, it has done about a week or two of work, using about 10 skills per site that each act like a manager with its own job.
Each week he drops three files into a folder: an Apple Health export, his Peloton data, and a spreadsheet of extras. The AI runs the numbers through 19 metrics, flags shifts like cycling power dipping after a hard hike, and updates a dashboard he checks to adjust his training.
Someone had the AI build a trade-alpha dashboard from his trade confirmation emails and benchmark the results against SPY. The agent turned scattered confirmations into a performance benchmark.
Constraints: zero ad budget, no existing audience, ~4 hrs/week of human time; assets: a subdomain, Cloudflare access, DodoPayments. Ruled out: custom AI songs, mixing/mastering services, automated day trading, 'information arbitrage'.
AI engineer Sajal Sharma built an AI on Telegram that tracks his tasks and notes and handles scheduled work. On camera he asked for a project overview, checked progress toward a reading goal, and had the assistant search the web for a book series and add the books it found to his reading list.
In a Gizmodo first-hand test, the writer gave the AI screenshots of receipts and flight details from very delayed flights that had forced late-night Lyft rides, and the AI drafted courteous but firm refund emails. Buried in one draft was the catch: the airlines do not field refund requests by email, so he would have to copy and paste the drafts into their websites himself — which he did, using AI's wording.
In 'A Month with AI', the MBI Deep Dives author writes that the AI filled out forms with five auto insurance carriers from his details and showed him quotes; switching at the same coverage saved $1,530 per year. He then set the AI to repeat the shop every five months, ahead of each six-month renewal, indefinitely.
Every idea is a real post from someone who tried it, summarized in our words, with a link to the original. App names are swapped for plain words.