Is "AI" Turning Me Into a More Functional (and Slightly More Relaxed) Human?
Originally posted on February 7, 2025
Lately, I’ve been poking around with AI stuff, not because I had a grand plan, but because... well, I was curious. My to-do list is longer than my arm (and my wife’s patience is wearing thin). Could LLMs and multi-modal models, either on my laptop or in the cloud, be the answer to my over-committed life? Turns out, the answer is a surprising “yes,” but not in the way I expected.
It’s less about some sci-fi future and more about finding small, practical ways to reclaim my focus and, dare I say, sanity. I’m not suddenly living on a beach sipping margaritas (though that is tempting), but I’m finding pockets of time and mental space I didn’t know I had. This says something larger about who might eventually benefit from all these investments made into what we’re broadly calling “AI’ these days.
Here are a couple of examples of where this curiosity has led me:
Email Marketing: Saving Our Cuban Restaurant (and My Sanity) with a Little AI Magic
I’ve got a soft spot for small, local businesses. A while back, I invested in a neighborhood Cuban restaurant. The financials were pretty good prior to my investment. More importantly, the food is incredible (best cubanos in this part of town!), the atmosphere is warm and inviting, and the staff is like family. But they were struggling to find the time and resources to effectively market themselves.
We all know how important email marketing is for staying top-of-mind with customers, announcing specials, and building loyalty. But for a small restaurant, it’s often the last thing on the to-do list. The staff is busy prepping food, serving customers, and keeping the place running smoothly. Hiring a marketing agency was too expensive, and trying to manage it all manually or in-house was a time-consuming nightmare. Which is why they hardly did it!
Could we have done it the old-fashioned way? Sure. And also in 30 seconds for next to nothing? Absolutely not.
There had to be a better way. I wasn’t looking for a silver bullet, but I was hoping to find a way to streamline the process and make it more manageable for myself.
After a bit of trial and error, I stumbled upon a workflow that works surprisingly well. I won’t go into how in this write up since that could be a rabbit hole of its own, but we’re semi-automating our email campaigns, allowing the staff to focus on what they do best: creating delicious food, cocktails, and providing an exceptional service.
Here’s how it works: Each week, the manager and staff spend a few minutes scanning local events, holidays, and any special promotions we want to highlight. Then, we use that information to automatically generate a short, engaging email (under 180 words) for our subscribers with the tone and brand identity that the restaurant had already cultivated. The “context length” in this one conversation that’s been ongoing with an LLM keeps the essence as we write more copy.
The real magic? Instead of hunting for stock photos that almost capture the right vibe, we use Flux to generate custom images. For example, if we’re running a campaign around the Bank of America marathon, we can generate an image of a runner of Latin-descent sipping a mojito post-race. Try finding that in a stock photo library!
Could we have done it the old-fashioned way? Sure. And also in 30 seconds for next to nothing? Absolutely not.
And where does that saved time go? Honestly, to whatever I feel like doing. Polishing glasses at the restaurant, squeezing in a workout, or just closing my eyes for 20 minutes while listening to nature lofi music. It’s a small win, but it makes a difference.
(A Note to Product Marketers, but also the Product Managers hiding behind them: I keep thinking about the AI-powered SaaS products aimed at SMBs. There’s definitely a willingness to pay for value, but the price point has to be right and half baked tools are just as bad as single-utility gadgets in any kitchen. My goal is always going to be to reduce operational costs and empower the staff to focus on the customer experience. There is no way a subscription SaaS product could replace just the minutes I now spend creating targeted, cost-effective email marketing for almost-free. I can find ten other examples like this, too, by the way, and it’s probably the reason why most restaurants use, but at-best tolerate Toast, Clover or Square and their bloated offerings)
Healthcare Advice: Without Getting Lost or Annoying Your Doctor (or Wife, in my case)
Okay, this is where things get a little more delicate, and I want to be super clear: I’m not suggesting we replace doctors with AI! The human element in healthcare is irreplaceable. But I am fascinated by the potential to improve the patient experience and make the healthcare system have more effective outcomes. For doctors, they’re already using AI-enabled scribe software to securely record a conversation between a patient and a provider and auto-summarize charting notes for final approval. But what about the patients?
It’s like having a knowledgeable and patient friend who can help you understand basic medical information and guide you toward the right resources.
I’ve been using Pathway Medical for a while now. Initially, it was a helpful resource for accessing medical research, similar to UpToDate. But honestly, the language was often dense and hard to understand. I found myself constantly turning to my wife (who works in healthcare and hates how often I bother her with these questions) to help me decipher the medical jargon and understand the implications of the research.
That’s where Pathway’s AI chat feature comes in. It’s like having a knowledgeable and patient friend who can help you understand basic medical information and guide you toward the right resources. I’m talking about those “Tier 1” questions that don’t necessarily require a doctor’s appointment but can still cause anxiety and uncertainty.
For example, instead of frantically Googling “sudden rash after trying new laundry detergent” (and inevitably landing on a worst-case-scenario diagnosis), I can ask the AI chat, “I have a mild rash after switching laundry detergents. Could it be an allergic reaction, and what are some simple remedies I can try at home?” The AI can provide helpful information, suggest over-the-counter treatments, and tell me when to seek professionals. See below:
This kind of AI-powered support can potentially alleviate the pressure on urgent care clinics and ERs by addressing those low-acuity cases that often clog up the system.
Again - The key is to use these tools responsibly and understand their limitations. AI can be a valuable resource for preliminary information and guidance, but it should never replace the expertise and judgment of a qualified healthcare professional.
So, that’s my ongoing exploration in a nutshell. It’s been less about finding magic bullets and more about discovering unexpected ways to simplify my life and free up my time. I’m still very much in the “experimenting” phase, and I’m curious to hear what others are discovering. The next few years are definitely going to be interesting with all this “AI” stuff.