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program_whiz • today at 8:20 PM • 1 reply • view on HN

Honestly it feels like AI companies are still searching for the killer idea that will attract the general public (beyond "be my AI bf" or "better google").

Getting a UI that explains the parts of a bike is ok I guess, but isn't it simpler to get an actual breakdown? Google "parts of bicycle breakout" gets tons of useful images instantly.

Getting a specialized app to split a bill? It was already trivial to put in a calculator if we cared to go item by item on the bill. Having to provide names and tag every item as I go is just more work. Usually real people just go $total divide by 5, I had more, let me chip in an extra $10.

Same with booking travel and wedding plans, these aren't things people would even delegate to a trusted friend usually, much less a one-off request to an AI bot or custom UI.

Most of the useful tasks it can do right now are research, technical question/answer, coding. In terms of "build a flexible ui that solves real-world problem", if existing mobile app isn't useful in this arena, then its unlikely a completely custom UI will do the job.

That said, I've done a few small ones like a quick one to practice alphabet of a foreign language, or prototyping a web game, and the like. But ultimately its nothing that is worth trillions of dollars.


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