Technology is meant to save time.
Make things easier. Smarter.
Sometimes it does.

Over the past few months, I’ve been setting up custom GPTs, built to follow instructions rather than just guess the answer. They were working well. People used them. They saved time. Job done.

Until recently, when an update landed.
Nothing dramatic. Just enough to throw things off.

Now, instead of doing what I’ve told them, they try to work out what I 'meant'.
I’ll fix it, of course. But it’s a reminder that the tools keep shifting.

You fix one thing, something else breaks.
Especially with AI.
Fast doesn’t always mean better.
And helpful isn’t always helpful.

Laura Downey posted a question the other day:
Which websites changed your life?

It took me straight back.

For me, it was AltaVista.

Before Google simplified everything. I remember using it for the first time to find a picture of Hong Kong Phooey for a party invite. Typed it in. Found it. Stuck it on the flyer.

It felt like magic. The idea that you could search for something and it would simply appear. (I hadn’t really thought about the copyright, but it was non-commercial, so let’s call it innocent enthusiasm.)

That moment changed how I saw the internet. Not just as a thing you use, but something that could open things up.

We’ve come a long way from clunky search engines and slow-loading JPEGs.
But I think we’re still chasing the same thing.
A sense of possibility.
A tool that helps us make something quicker, smarter, better.

So now I’m asking you:
Which website changed your life?

Enjoy your Quick PINT,
Nigel

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