I’ve recently become enamored with Google Gemini (the AI chatbot component that serves up answers from Google’s search engine). Until last week, I didn’t have the courage (or maybe the energy) to go beyond the basic functions – help rewording emails, recipe hints, a little personal advice. After seeing how valuable Gemini could be, I decided that needed to change. I challenged myself to use AI for every single problem or task that was presented to me, even in (especially in!) situations where it normally wouldn’t occur to me to do so.
My first project was a garden box. I had a pile of scrap wood – all random pieces of no particular size. I wanted Google Gemini to help me piece them together, like a puzzle, into a 15’ x 3’ box. I measured each piece of wood, and gave the list to the bot. AI showed me exactly where to position each piece of wood, along with the amount I’d need to trim. It gave me a list of the tools I’d need (along with links to purchase each one online). Finally, there was an outline of the process from start to finish, along with some practical advice (pre-drill holes so the wood doesn’t split). It made what would have been a daunting task for a beginner (this was my first time ever operating a saber saw) surprisingly easy.
After that, I decided to tackle some coding. I asked it to update and optimize a website I built over 10 years ago. Well, that didn’t work so well. It simplified the site to a point where none of the interactive elements worked, and also rewrote some of my copy, which I hadn’t asked for, and which was not – in my opinion – a good change. I tried giving it a more detailed prompt, and this time, it seemed like nothing changed at all – including the changes I wanted. I give up for now (it is not a high-priority task), but I will revisit this!
Finally, I tackled the project I really wanted. I have a private ‘archive’ portion of my site where I upload literally every single photo I’ve ever worked on. Each photo gets keywords, which I devise myself. This helps me quickly find what I need if I want, say, photos of dads for a Father’s Day Instagram post, or if I’m applying to an open call featuring the color red. I wanted to see if Google Gemini could create my keywords for me.
This required a more advanced Google AI program called Antigravity, and a $4/month subscription to an API. In less than a half hour, I had something that worked. Great! The only problem is, the keywords are not very helpful. I typically search for things like, ‘women,’ ‘couples,’ ‘ice cream,’ or ‘funny dads.’ AI gives me keywords like ‘forearm,’ ‘knee,’ ‘sitting,’ and ‘bag.’ Sometimes the keywords are not even accurate (see ‘winter’ and ‘goggles’ below). I’m hoping that Google will improve the API over time.
Next up: I will ask AI to give me a prompts for a new art project!
My keywords: women, friends, elderly, ice cream, food, eating, friends, female
AI’s keywords: Eyewear, Sleeve, Shoe, Glasses, Vision Care, Denim, Happiness, Trousers, Leg, Sunglasses, Jeans, Fashion, Smile, Leisure, Sitting, Knee, Goggles, Sneakers, Thigh, People in nature, Comfort, Fun, Bag, Grey, Vacation, Blond, Travel, Active Pants, Holiday, Lap, Winter, Laughter, Scarf
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