For most of my adult life, the kitchen wasn’t my domain. A cooking merit badge, a few tips from a chef roommate years back, and the comfortable minimalism of bachelor living. That was about it. Then my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and I became his caregiver. Suddenly cooking had real stakes — healthy, economical, and something we’d actually want to eat every day. So I did what I’ve always done when a new challenge lands in front of me: I applied myself. Same way I did in my career — leaning into creativity, digging into online resources, learning by doing. Cooking became a skill I decided to actually get good at, not just get by with. AI became one of the tools that accelerated that. A few weeks ago at BJ’s, I pulled out my iPhone, took a photo of the spice aisle, and asked one of the major AI models — the free version — to suggest spices for an interesting chicken dish. It actually identified every single item on those shelves, then gave me several flavor directions: a Moroccan-spiced roast, a smoky paprika and garlic pan dish, something bright with cumin and citrus. Ninety seconds. Standing in a warehouse store. If you’re only using AI for basic Q&A, you’re leaving a lot on the table. These tools can see, reason, and connect what’s in front of you to what you’re actually trying to accomplish. That’s not a party trick. That’s a genuinely useful tool — for work, and for life. What’s the most unexpected way you’ve used AI day-to-day? Drop it in the comments.
