A thing we should acknowledge about AI

Last week, I was doing regular maintenance tasks on my home file server, a Synology running its own Linux-style OS. I tend to put off updates for weeks because sometimes things break after upgrades and that means needing an extra couple of hours to clean things up. This time I did all the things I needed to do, then I noticed one of the main apps was no longer being updated and it turns out I installed it from the Synology community, where the maintainer of it abandoned the project (they were doing free work for years so I understand).

I decided to ask Claude.ai if it could help me reinstall the app from the official site, and it suggested I run it on my Docker instance. In the past, I've had my ups and downs using Docker, so I asked Claude for all the info on migrating my old setup to a completely new one. It gave me steps to backup my old app, remove it, then all the commands to install the new one, and how to restore from my backups.

Much to my surprise, after just a few minutes of tinkering it all worked. Everything was deleted, rebuilt, and functioned. The app was exactly as it used to be but with the most recent updates. It has run flawlessly since.

Let's try some new stuff

Feeling emboldened by my good fortune, I decided to ask Claude how to fix a bunch of other things I'd been putting off for months. There were several apps I never really got working quite right, so I asked Claude.

And it delivered.

Overall, Claude gave me correct info about 90% of the time, and when it didn't know or gave incorrect advice, I could upload a screenshot of errors and it'd tell me exactly what should be changed which fixed them. I continued, and got half a dozen utilities I'd always wanted running on my home network to function correctly for the first time. Plus, all my existing stuff was running like a top. In less than an hour, I'd transformed what my home file server could do.

It was refreshing, honestly

Any question, no matter how dumb I thought it was, got a helpful answer from Claude. It felt different than looking up StackExchange or reddit posts or wading into forums to ask for help.

I thought back to every tech community I've interacted with, and how even if they aim to be open and supportive, it's intimidating to ask questions that make you sound naive, and it's always a crapshoot on whether or not you'll get the help you need.

It was also refreshing because Claude answered every question without judgment. I don't usually memorize linux commands because I don't use them often enough, so if I had to ask Claude how to recursively delete files in a directory, I'd get a command I could copy and paste with a complete explanation of every flag and option enabled, and it'd work. I wasn't getting "oh my GOD how have you not memorized that super basic command YET?!"

Wood you rather?

I was also thinking about my helpful Claude interactions this week when I was setting up my first real pro-level table saw I recently bought. Saws need to be accurate to be reliable for woodworking and I reached out the state's woodworker's guild to float the idea of hiring a veteran to help me nail the new saw perfectly before I start building more stuff.

My thinking is that it's much like hiring a piano tuner when you get your first real piano, so you can be sure things sound good while you learn to play it. A lot of woodworking accuracy tools cost hundreds of dollars and are rarely used, so I offered up $200-300 for an hour of anyone's time to help get all my tolerances within a thousandths of an inch for the new saw.

I eventually got a response, from someone who once wrote for a popular woodworking magazine and said he had all the tools needed to do it. But when we discussed when he could meet up, he told me I should instead learn it all myself, buy my own measurement tools and look on eBay for any out-of-print copies of his articles and DVDs from 30 years ago that perfectly explain the process.

I know that it's important to be able to fix your own tools and I'm regularly picking up those skills over time, but I wanted to pay someone for a quick in-person tutorial (while also getting to see how specialized, precision tools are used correctly to make sure everything is perfect). Instead I got a lecture and homework.

I guess I understand why some weirdos think they've fallen in love with a AI bot?

I have plenty of reservations about the spread of AI and the many downsides of it, but I have to acknowledge how refreshing it was on the day I worked on dozens of annoying tasks I'd been putting off for months. Claude gave me working answers that saved me loads of time researching and troubleshooting, all without judgment or gatekeeping.

There are a shitload of downsides to using AI, but I have to admit that even if you think it's just a clumsy word salad robot, giving out helpful advice freely is a refreshing contrast to how most online communities treat their newest members and I have to acknowledge that it's a real upside in AI tools.