Like many people, my daily routine involves a search engine. Whether it is a quick fact, the latest headlines, or a deep dive into a new topic, search engines have always been the gateway to discovery. For me, that changed in 2023, when I discovered Perplexity—an AI-powered research tool that’s quietly revolutionised how I find and use information. The Evolution of Everyday Search Traditional search engines have always been about links. Type a query, get a list of websites, and hope the answer is buried somewhere on page one. Perplexity takes a different approach: it delivers direct, well-sourced answers to your questions, right up front. No more hopping between tabs or skimming articles for a single fact. The experience is more like chatting with a knowledgeable assistant than using a search engine.

At the end of 2023 OpenAI introduced GPTs — custom versions of ChatGPT that anyone can create. These tailored assistants are designed to perform specific tasks, help with workflows, or simply provide a more personalised experience. In this post, I’ll explain what GPTs are, why they’re so useful, and how I created a custom GPT to help me learn Linux commands. What Are GPTs? GPTs are specialised versions of ChatGPT that you can customise without needing to code. You can:

I recently discovered Ollama (ollama.com), a platform that allows you to run open-source Large Language Models (LLMs) directly on your local machine. As someone with an M1 Pro MacBook Pro, I was intrigued by the idea of leveraging my hardware to run advanced AI models privately. After exploring Ollama and experimenting with open-source models like Llama, Mistral, and Phi, I’ve been amazed at the speed and quality these models deliver—especially considering they’re running locally.

Prompt engineering is a crucial skill in today’s AI-driven world. At its core, it’s the process of designing and optimising prompts to interact effectively with natural language processing (NLP) models like ChatGPT. Crafting a good prompt is an art and a science, and when done well, it can drastically improve the quality of responses from AI systems. Whether you’re writing prompts for work, learning, or creative projects, understanding the basics of prompt engineering can make your interactions with AI more productive and rewarding.

We’re living in the middle of an AI revolution. The rapid advancements in artificial intelligence feel like the dawn of a new era—much like how the internet and the World Wide Web transformed the way we live, communicate, and work. In just a few short years, AI has gone from a buzzword to a daily tool many of us use, and the pace of progress shows no signs of slowing.