No time to miss you in the age of AI

If 2023 was the year AI entered the public imagination, I see 2026 as a year when attention turns from excitement about technology toward work people can actually do with it.

At the end of last month I wrote about the open-source project now called OpenClaw, then known as Clawdbot. Its sudden popularity reminded me of the response to ChatGPT in early 2023. I wrote an introductory WeChat post, and about twenty days later I deployed it on my own computer. Friends soon asked me how. I had little time to prepare a tutorial, partly because I was busy trying other tools myself. Gemini helps me research; Codex helps me code; Nano Banana Pro helps me create images; and specialized Gems support particular questions. Ideas that once lived only in my head now feel possible to test.

For example, I can sketch a physical AI agent in an AI workspace, see a visual preview, and ask about feasibility before building it. That can reveal obstacles and suggest steps early.

If I need an illustration, AI can help me get closer to what I pictured. My ability to explain what I want and judge the result becomes more important than mastering every drawing tool first.

If I want to study a new field, I can use AI to ask questions, conduct deeper research, and turn what I learn into a project. Curiosity can become an action rather than remaining a wish.

These are only three uses. I am already confident they will take time I once spent on entertainment. I want to see what I can make with that time.