My Recent Fortnights with Google’s AI: A Mix of Awe and Apprehension

Exploring the Capabilities of AI: My Journey with Google’s New Model

As a civil engineer with no background in coding or computer science, I recently embarked on an intriguing adventure with Google’s latest AI model over the last couple of weekends. The experience has left me simultaneously amazed and a little uneasy about the future of technology.

To give you some context, I signed up for a free student license to explore the capabilities of this new AI tool. My goal was simple: I wanted to develop a small application to help manage and track my minor projects. While there are existing software solutions available that serve this purpose, I envisioned something tailored to my specific needs—nothing extravagant, just basic finance tracking and project health monitoring, complemented by some visual charts.

I dedicated nearly eight hours last weekend to this project, engaging the AI model as if it were a team of coders at my disposal. Remarkably, it generated entire sections of code for me and guided me through the process of downloading the necessary programs and where to implement the code.

The result? I was able to create a functional program, which, while not entirely flawless, meets my requirements just the way I intended. The sense of achievement I felt was incredible. I had built something useful without any prior programming experience!

However, I can’t help but feel a bit apprehensive about the implications of such advanced AI technology. The pace at which these models are evolving is unsettling. As they continue to improve, they might surpass our expectations in ways we can hardly imagine.

As I look ahead, my plans for the coming week include developing a few more small-scale applications. I’m eager to see what other possibilities this AI can help me unlock.

If you’re considering experimenting with AI but lack coding expertise, I encourage you to give it a try. It might just surprise you in ways you never thought possible!