Posts that could be tweets, but you’re already here, so let’s begin.
Imagine you go to an Amazon-like shop where you can buy whatever you want, through prompts instead of search. Vendors, instead of selling their products, sell their craft. Let’s call it “Crafty” for now.
The user prompts for the product they’re looking for, and Crafty’s AI creates instructions for the vendors about how and what to build, then handles the delivery.
Any product you can think of, Crafty can build. For example, the user writes in the search bar:
Universal remote that controls my TV, sound bar, and Philips Hue lights, with a small OLED screen showing what device I’m controlling, matte black finish, and only the 8 buttons I actually use
A vendor that specializes in electronics will receive this job (I can see a bidding system in place). The Crafty AI will include all the designs, 3D models, instructions, schematics, etc. needed to build this, and it will also handle the delivery.
You could even extend the idea to a network of crafters or shops with a supply chain system. Not ideal for shipping time, though.
Imagine sending this to multiple vendors where each produces their part. One prints the 3D shell in the color you chose. Another crafts a green board and adds the little squares, etc.
The user receives the item in parts with assembly instructions.
Or maybe Crafty wants to increase profits and starts teaching people how cool it is to print at home. It makes “Thing Printers” accessible to the public so people can create anything, even control remotes.
Crafty will optimize the network and allow Thing Printers to be interconnected to minimize delivery times on your favorite products.
But without going too far, and just sticking to the first part of the idea, we can see how simple buying things could be, especially for products that can be built in a straightforward way.
The recommendation systems will change too: instead of pushing the products they sell, companies will push the products they can build. Instead of recommending similar products, they’ll recommend variants and customizations.
Anyway, I’m pretty sure a company like this will pop up eventually, and it will be interesting to see the new economies this will bring. AI will rule, but humans will enjoy it.
Back to code. Thanks for reading.