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I asked AI for help with DIY. It told me to build a subfloor on rotting stumps, but also taught me valuable lessons | Myke Bartlett

4 June 2026 at 16:00

Nothing does more for your ego than realising you can make a better decision than a bot with all of human knowledge at its digital fingertips

I am not, by nature, an early adopter. There comes a point in our lives where change becomes more irritating than exciting and, I suspect, I reached it sooner than most. But when a workplace recently tasked me with exploring practical applications for AI, I spotted an opportunity to cast off my luddite inclinations.

It turned out AI was very good at mimicking most of the things I could already do. Irrespective of quality, it could churn out articles, reports, presentations, fiction, even podcasts with stammering hosts. That was no use to me. What I wanted help with was all the stuff I was useless at. There was an obvious target: DIY.

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Β© Photograph: Neustockimages/Getty Images

Β© Photograph: Neustockimages/Getty Images

Β© Photograph: Neustockimages/Getty Images

β€˜Waste colonialism’: Fiji says no to Australian billionaire’s incineration plan

Government rejects offshore rubbish being shipped to Fiji and burned after opposition from traditional landowners and tourism operators

The Fijian government has rejected a plan by an Australian billionaire to burn rubbish for energy in Fiji after backlash from traditional landowners and tourism operators.

The plan to ship non-recyclable rubbish from across the region to Fiji, popular with tourists for its pristine beaches, and build an incinerator to consume 900,000 tonnes of waste a year had been labelled β€œwaste colonialism” by villagers.

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Β© Photograph: BigBlueFun/Getty Images/500px

Β© Photograph: BigBlueFun/Getty Images/500px

Β© Photograph: BigBlueFun/Getty Images/500px

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