Personal software is INSANE in the age of AI

I built a personal course video manager. It handles 105 videos across 41 lessons for my courses. Nothing fancy. Just software adapted to exactly how I work.

Here's what it does: I record a video. The app grabs the transcript and the local files I used during recording. I select an LLM (usually Haiku 4.5), choose the output format (steps to complete, skill building text, whatever), and hit go.

The LLM churns out accompanying text that I review and either save directly to the repo as a README or copy to my clipboard. Then I can immediately turn that transcript into an article or edit the video description.

The whole workflow lives in one place. I recorded this article's source video in the same software I'm describing right now.

I have zero interest in making this a commercial application. I'm showing you this because it demonstrates something critical about AI-powered personal software.

AI Handles the Grunt Work

Everything the AI touches in my workflow is pure grunt work. Transcription. Text generation. Repurposing content from one format into another.

I'm not delegating any of my thinking to the LLM. I review all of its outputs closely—at least the stuff my users see.

The moment you start delegating your thinking to an LLM, you're screwed.

But if you build a system that integrates AI into workflows you already have? That's when it gets powerful.

Personal Software That Knows Your Workflow

Generic AI tools make impressive demos. They fall flat in daily use because they don't know who you are, what you're working on, or how you work.

My course manager is optimized for me. It knows my file structure. It understands my content formats. It plugs into my existing repos.

That's the future I'm betting on. Not generic tools everyone uses the same way. Bespoke applications that deeply integrate with your specific needs and projects.

The AI helps me move faster. It doesn't replace my judgment. It takes work off my hands without taking over my thinking.

Build systems that leverage AI for the repetitive stuff. Keep the thinking for yourself.