At Home with AI Podcast

Do you feel like you’ve spent years thinking about all the things you want to change and getting nowhere? I created this prompt to help you identify one transformation you’d like to make and a 4-week plan. I talk about how I created the prompt, and how I'm using it myself. For the prompt, see athomewithai.substack.com. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit athomewithai.substack.com

I mostly work with browser-based AI tools in my personal life, but I thought I’d give Claude Cowork a spin for a much-needed task: helping me list a pile of old clothes and shoes on Poshmark. Here’s what it did well, and what I ended up doing myself. For the full prompts, see athomewithai.substack.com. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit athomewithai.substack.com

Having helped a lot of first-timers use AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, I’ve noticed some common mistakes that will start you off on the wrong foot. For more, see athomewithai.substack.com. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit athomewithai.substack.com

Join me as I swap AI travel plans with Monica Goh (aka The SIA Brat). More at athomewithai.substack.com. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit athomewithai.substack.com

Yes, AI does really help me do my laundry! More at athomewithai.substack.com. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit athomewithai.substack.com

Here's how my AI chief of staff works. For the prompt, visit athomewithai.substack.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit athomewithai.substack.com

Here's how I reclaim moments of the day to practice language with AI. More at athomewithai.substack.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit athomewithai.substack.com

Why are live conversations with AI a game changer? For more, see athomewithai.substack.com. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit athomewithai.substack.com

I used AI to plan our vacation to the south of France. Let me tell you how it did. For my prompts, visit athomewithai.substack.com. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit athomewithai.substack.com

What's the difference between the three Gemini models? For more, see athomewithai.substack.com. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit athomewithai.substack.com

Here's the story of how AI helped my son learn to tie his shoes. For more, see athomewithai.substack.com. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit athomewithai.substack.com

You might be hesitant to try AI because of the scary headlines about its environmental impact. I get it. I’m someone who actually thinks about this kind of thing a lot - I take the bus instead of rideshares, order delivery maybe once a month, and try to do as many errands on foot as possible. I’m an optimizer at heart.Every choice we make is a trade-off. You might not think twice about scrolling social media, driving a few minutes to the gym, or ordering DoorDash. People get value or pleasure out of those activities, so they accept the carbon cost.What if I told you that a minute of doomscrolling on TikTok is the same as 100 AI prompts? That a 10 minute errand is 60,000 AI prompts? And wait until you hear about your average shower. Let’s break it down…The Environmental Impact of AIThe number I’m using to calculate AI prompt usage is based on lightweight text-based AI models like Gemini “Fast”. These use about .03g of carbon per prompt (Generating video is higher, but I’m going to focus on text prompting here.)We should also consider the cost of training the models, not just using them. But my research found that, spread across hundreds of millions of users, this actually adds little to the environmental cost.The Cost of Doomscrolling🤯 One MINUTE of watching TikTok uses nearly 100 times the carbon of a single AI prompt.The average TikTok user spends over 45 MINUTES a day scrolling.This is the equivalent of over four thousand simple AI prompts a day. But hey, I’m not here to judge - maybe the cat videos ARE adding that much value to your life.The Cost of Driving🤯 A standard 10-minute car trip (in a sedan, not even an SUV!) emits as much carbon as approximately 60,000 AI prompts.If you use an AI prompt to help you identify a part, troubleshoot a repair, or optimize your grocery list so you skip one drive to the store, you have essentially pre-paid your carbon debt for the next several years of text-based AI use.Water UseHow long was your last shower?An 8-minute shower uses between 16 and 40 gallons of water (depending on the efficiency of the showerhead). A flash model is estimated to use 0.26 milliliters per prompt. 🤯 Even if you have an efficient showerhead, the shower would use the water equivalent of 230,769 AI prompts!DisclaimerMy math is based on specific figures I’ve found - and while they may not be perfect (it’s notoriously difficult to estimate AI use), I still feel confident in encouraging people to consider the value versus impact of ALL of their daily activities, not just AI prompts.Sources* Carbon Footprint of a Simple AI Prompt * Measuring the environmental impact of AI inference | Google Cloud Blog* TikTok* TikTok’s annual carbon footprint is likely bigger than Greece’s, study finds - The Guardian* TikTok’s 50-Million-Ton Carbon Crisis: Almost 7x Bigger Than Meta’s Footprint* Car Trip* Greenhouse Gas Emissions from a Typical Passenger Vehicle | US EPA* Shower Water Use* EPA: Save Water and Energy by Showering Better (calculator) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit athomewithai.substack.com

In this episode, I talk about how I trained a Gemini Gem to be my personal conversational food coach. No barcodes, no wondering how many ounces are in a medium apple. Just a quick chat or a photo, and it’s done.Want the full prompt? Visit athomewithai.substack.com. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit athomewithai.substack.com

How can we use AI without losing our creative spark? More at athomewithai.substack.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit athomewithai.substack.com

Here's how you can make Spirit Week less scary with AI. Full post with prompts at athomewithai.substack.com. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit athomewithai.substack.com

AI doesn't have to be intimidating, and it doesn't have to be just for work. In my debut episode, I discuss how to feel "at home" with AI tools. Join me! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit athomewithai.substack.com