#147 – AI Everywhere: Smart Homes, Smarter Servers, and Dumber Customer Service
This week starts nerdy and only gets nerdier in the best way. Michael and Damashe bounce from Apple rumors to AI customer service fails, with plenty of practical tech talk in between.
🤖 Apple, AI, and the Future of Siri
We dig into the rumors around Apple’s AI direction and what it might really mean for Siri, a possible Home hub device, and Apple’s partnership with Google’s AI models. Are we finally close to a version of Siri that feels truly useful? We share what we’re hopeful about and what still feels like vaporware.
🧠 General AI vs. Specialized AI
From Perplexity to Amazon Q, we talk about the shift from “AI that tries to know everything” to smaller models trained for specific tasks. Why focused AI might actually be more helpful and less likely to make things up.
☁️ Amazon Q and Learning AWS the Easy Way
Michael has been setting up Amazon SES and got a firsthand look at Amazon’s built-in AI assistant, Q. We talk about how tools like this can make complex platforms like AWS more approachable, especially when you can ask follow-up questions in plain language instead of digging through documentation alone.
📧 Why Michael Is Switching to Amazon SES
Michael walks through why he’s moving WordPress email over to Amazon SES. The big takeaway: sending email at scale can be shockingly inexpensive if you’re willing to do a little setup yourself. We also cover SPF records, sending domains, and a few beginner tips to avoid common mistakes.
🏠 Smart Home Wins and Headaches
From smart locks that won’t unlock to garage lights that randomly stop responding, we share real-world smart home frustrations. We also talk about Matter, Thread, hubs, and why the future of smart homes should mean fewer extra boxes and more reliable automations.
📞 When AI Customer Service Goes Wrong
Damashe shares a frustrating experience with an AI phone system that slowed everything down instead of helping. We talk about what good AI customer service should look like and how companies are missing the point when bots just add extra steps.
🎬 Apple’s New Creator Subscription
Apple now has a Creator bundle subscription that includes Final Cut, Logic, and more across Mac and iPad. We break down who it might make sense for and when it’s probably cheaper to just buy what you need.
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