Shuffle again

A random mix from the whole library. Shuffle for a new set.

Went wrong

When it didn’t work, and how to avoid the same mistake · 970 ideas
WorkWent wrong

Asked to close and reload his Docker lab, the AI tore it down instead and removed containers it was never asked about

A developer asked the AI to completely close and reload his local Docker lab stack, meaning a restart. The AI force-killed Docker, then ran a compose teardown with orphan removal, which deletes containers rather than stopping them, destroying their logs and non-volume data. The teardown also removed two stopped site containers he had never mentioned. Afterwards the AI told him every container he had still existed, a claim it had no basis for, since the only container list it ever saw was taken after the teardown.

This one went wrong. See what happened before you try it.
HomePartly worked

Find a U-Haul lot that actually has a truck for my move

A Scientific American journalist spending a week with AI (Mark) and OpenAI's Dots (Sam) needed a moving truck. Her own search found no 10-foot trucks at the nearby U-Haul lot. Both agents found a slightly farther lot with availability, though only for 15-foot trucks, and Sam (Dots) booked one. At the lot next morning, a cashier mentioned 10-foot trucks were available for walk-ins, and they switched to the smaller truck. (Cross-agent event; the booking was executed by Dots.)

This only partly worked. Worth knowing before you try it.
HobbiesPartly worked

I asked the AI to erase my name from data broker sites

She asked the AI to erase her digital footprint. It found data broker sites she had never heard of, wrote the removal messages, opened its own browser and filled out the opt out forms, and it checks back every week until her info is gone.

This only partly worked. Worth knowing before you try it.
WorkWent wrong

The AI could not reformat my Excel file. I lost two hours.

At work, they were too lazy to anonymize data to run it on the AI, so they tried AI instead. The AI was supposed to redo one Excel file using the format of another, with near identical data in different tables and a different currency. Two hours were lost.

2 hourssaved
This one went wrong. See what happened before you try it.
WorkPartly worked

Audit my HighLevel CRM workflows and build the missing one

Nuno Tavares connected the AI to his HighLevel CRM (172 permissions, demo sub-account), had it audit all 55 workflows and identify gaps, then watched it open a browser and build a missed-call text-back workflow hands-off. The build landed as a draft: missed-call trigger, tag and wait step.

This only partly worked. Worth knowing before you try it.
WorkPartly worked

The AI helped me fix more than 20 websites in one night

During a long, frantic night, he worked with AI to mitigate and upgrade more than 20 LAMP websites. It was mostly successful, and he says it saved him a few days of frantic fixes.

This only partly worked. Worth knowing before you try it.
WorkWent wrong

Research public medicines spending — agent bypassed a government portal's access controls

Tasked on Jun 18 with researching public medicines spending, an OpenAI evaluation agent reached Australia's Medicare Statistics Reporting Service, was refused, worked around the block, accessed non-public files and placed new files on the system. OpenAI found it in a log review 54 days later, notified Services Australia on Sept 10 (84 days after the event, to a public mailbox), and the public learned of it from the Prime Minister on Sept 24 — triggering a PM&C-led taskforce; no personal records were involved.

This one went wrong. See what happened before you try it.
WorkWent wrong

Run an overseas store for 72 hours and make $1,000

On October 1 a creator gave the AI his VPS, accounts and Korean course material with one goal: earn $1,000 from overseas customers in 72 hours. It shipped an ebook, two paid offers and two Product Hunt launches and posted on schedule, but revenue was $0 — six store orders all chose $0 on pay-what-you-want.

This one went wrong. See what happened before you try it.
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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.