I Asked AI for Ideas About Free Summer Fun. The Dog Suggestions Were Kinda Quirky

This summer might be one of the hottest on record and not everyone can afford to wrap themselves in the sweet embrace of central air conditioning all day and night. Some of us have nothing but rattling window units and oscillating tower fans standing between us and the fiery tide of oven temperatures looming in August.

Fear not, my sweaty friends. Here’s how to use artificial intelligence to help you plan a summer filled with free frivolity for you and your loved ones.

I’m using ChatGPT for this challenge, the text prompt chat tool that uses large language models and machine learning to provide conversational answers to sometimes complex questions. Questions like, “can an old air conditioner shake so hard it breaks the window?” and “how long can you sit in your car with the AC blasting before the battery dies?”

I started with a simple request of ChatGPT as a baseline:

These were pretty generic suggestions and didn’t take into account the average August temperature and humidity of my hometown, Los Angeles. The dank and piping hot conditions could easily match hell. 

I refined the request by adding details about the weather and isolating the dates to the month of August, but it came back with essentially the same results with a little extra flair thrown in for fun, including more museums and indoor spaces, and mostly suggestions to go out at night or rise early in the morning rather than running around during the red hot days. 

I continued chatting and added even more specifics about my lifestyle and preferences, like wanting these suggestions to incorporate potential for a romantic vibe and be dog-friendly, to get more useful results. I asked: “I’m a person who likes comic books, vinyl records, BBQ, film and TV, video games and Star Trek — can you accommodate for this?

These suggestions were just okay, and the idea of simply browsing vinyl records when you’re a vinyl record fan with a plan to not spend any money over the summer seemed unlikely and limiting. If I say I’m a vinyl fan, it’s not too much of a stretch for the tool to assume I already own some records and maybe there’s an activity I could do with my collection rather than simply looking at things in a shop I have no intention to buy. 

The specific suggestions for my city were also not great. For instance, there’s no evidence to suggest free concerts are still happening at the Santa Monica Pier in the summer, and the calendar for August on the website is totally empty. Also, as a Trekkie, “Maybe spot a Star Trek constellation” feels offensive. I don’t need an AI telling me to touch grass.

Involving my dog in the activities was limited to ChatGPT suggesting average things and then tacking on the phrase “with your dog” at the end. Take a free online class … with your dog. Listen to live music at The Grove … with your dog. Have a romantic evening picnic at Echo Park Lake … with your dog. 

This change to the prompt was just what ChatGPT needed 

I asked ChatGPT to get more creative with the suggestions, and surprisingly that tiny distinction made all the difference. New ideas ranged from attending a live (air conditioned) taping of a TV show to a vinyl listening party where friends could swap records and discover new music.

The tool also recommended things that were not free, like Food Truck Fridays and paddle boating on the lake, but I suppose free samples aren’t totally out of the realm of possibility and watching the swan-like paddle boats glide on the glistening water does sound nice, especially … with my dog.

For more AI tips, here’s how to create custom thank you notes with Midjourney, how to get an AI living room makeover and how to use AI to keep up with important dates.