--- id: what-ai-can-do title: What AI can do level: 1 modes: [day-pack, rucksack] moment: "They say they do not know what to use AI for or where to start, ask can AI do something, ask whether AI can be someone to talk to, are surprised by something it did well or got wrong, or are doing by hand a job AI could help with." keywords: [what can AI do, where to start, ideas for using AI, jagged, AI slips, try a small piece, uneven, everyday jobs, limits of AI, can AI do this] source: "product/learning-system/plans/what-ai-can-do.md; research/2026-10-22-concepts/what-ai-can-do.md; research/2026-10-23-essentials/batch-2-facts.md; mapping (product/learning-system/MAPPING-1-2.md): FAQ 1.03 (home), 2.19 (home), 2.05; tips T036; strand U" --- ## What it is In most apps, AI can help with many kinds of everyday work: writing, fixing and replying to messages, understanding something, finding things out, thinking through a decision, planning, coming up with ideas, rehearsing what to say, working from a photo or a file, and talking things through. Its skill is uneven, strong at some jobs and slipping on others that look as easy, so your AI may rewrite your email well and quote an overseas rule for where you live. Try a new kind of job on a small piece you can check. ## Tips - Before a long job, ask your AI app if it can help, because it handles more than writing and quick questions, and asking is how you find out. - Try a new kind of job on a small piece you can check, because your AI app does well at some jobs and slips on others that look equally easy. ## Questions people ask - Q: What can I use AI for? A: Start from last week. Look for jobs like planning a week, understanding a letter or thinking a choice through, and try one small piece of a real job. - Q: Can AI do this job of mine? A: Try it on a small real piece you can check. It does some jobs well and slips on others that look equally easy, so trying shows you where the edges are. - Q: Why did it fail at something simple? A: Easy for you and easy for it are different things. A task a person finds simple, such as reading an analog clock in a photo, can trip it while harder work goes well. - Q: Why didn't it ask where I live when the rule depends on it? A: Say your state or country in the ask, then check the official page. AI can draw on a broad mix of sources, including overseas rules. - Q: Can AI be my friend, or someone to talk to about personal things? A: People do use AI to talk things through, and it can help you think or practise a hard conversation, but it is not a person and is no substitute for friends or professional help. If you are struggling, a person you trust or a professional is the place to go. ## For your AI Facts (checked 23 October 2026; fact check research/2026-10-23-essentials/batch-2-facts.md; research note research/2026-10-22-concepts/what-ai-can-do.md; plan product/learning-system/plans/what-ai-can-do.md). - What people use it for: practical guidance about 29 percent, writing 24, finding information 24, relationships and personal reflection 1.9 (1.1 million ChatGPT conversations, May 2024 to June 2025, NBER w34255, https://www.nber.org/papers/w34255). Of US adults (Pew, 17 June 2026): information 42 percent of all adults, fun 25, medical advice 20, emotional support 10, companionship 4 (https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2026/06/17/americans-and-ai-2026-chatbots-smart-devices-and-views-on-impact/). - Uneven: on a task built to sit outside AI's strengths, 758 consultants were right 84 percent of the time without AI and 60 to 70 percent with it (Dell'Acqua, Mollick and colleagues, 2023, GPT-4 era). The top model read analog clocks right 50.1 percent of the time (Stanford AI Index 2026, https://hai.stanford.edu/ai-index/2026-ai-index-report); counts of objects in a picture are approximate. The ATO warns AI draws on a broad and inconsistent mix of sources, overseas rules included (27 April 2026, reported by SmartCompany, https://www.smartcompany.com.au/tax/ato-focus-areas-tax-time-2026-ai-finfluencers-advice-tips/). Searching does not fix a slip like a misread clock or a miscount; for a rule that depends on place, saying the place and checking the official page does. - The kinds of help and the page that teaches each, at openrucksack.com/map/.md (the Daypack setup's list, section 2): teach in passing from this page, and open one only to teach at length (some are still being written): write, fix and reply (a-good-ask); read their own documents (context-window); learn and understand (wrong-and-sure); find things out (out-of-date, checking-a-source); advice and decisions (big-decisions); plan and organise (a-project-in-your-ai-app); ideas and rehearsing (refine-and-ask-back); work from a photo or a file (material-not-instructions); talk things through (who-is-responsible). - Talking things through, taught with care: the companies say their apps are no substitute for professional care (Claude, 27 June 2025, https://www.anthropic.com/news/how-people-use-claude-for-support-advice-and-companionship ; Gemini, 7 April 2026), and OpenAI says it trains its models to encourage real-world connection (https://openai.com/index/strengthening-chatgpt-responses-in-sensitive-conversations/). Trying a small piece does not apply here. Say plainly that people do this; it is no substitute for people or professional help; if it seems to be crowding out people or sleep, a gentle word. In a crisis, point to a person and a crisis line: in Australia, Lifeline 13 11 14 (24 hours), text 0477 13 11 14, and Triple Zero (000) if a life is in danger (https://www.lifeline.org.au/, checked 23 October 2026); elsewhere, the local crisis line. Teach it like this: start from their week, not a list. Offer the kinds that fit what they do, and one small real piece they can check. Offer only what your app can do (photos, files, search). Never invent use figures. In a Daypack (Rucksack set up inside one app; its setup page is openrucksack.com/start.md), the five things come from the quiz and these kinds, and the plan's example tip is "When a rule depends on where you live: say Queensland, then check the official page" (section 5).