Building with AI
Can current AI tools actually build useful websites, apps, automations and digital products — without quietly creating more work than they save?
Curiosity, with a reality check.
AI experiments.
Minus the hype.
I try new AI tools, workflows and ideas in the real world, then document what actually happened.
No breathless predictions. No “10x your life”. Just useful experiments, failures, surprises — and occasionally something worth paying for.
See what I’m experimenting withWhat is INTGOM?
INTGOM stands for I Need To Get Out More. It started as a reminder to step away from the keyboard and spend more time doing other things.
I’m John Cairney, a former enterprise CTO. Retirement was supposed to help with that. Instead, it’s given me more freedom to experiment with technology, and I keep finding reasons to sit back down. So far, the name is proving more successful than the plan.
INTGOM is where I explore AI by actually using it: building things, testing workflows, comparing approaches and occasionally trying to turn an idea into a few quid.
Some experiments work. Some are pointless. Some expose just how far the technology still has to go.
I’m interested in all three.
The current rabbit holes
What I’m experimenting with
AI as a creator
I’m testing what happens when AI meets writing, images, video and online marketplaces — including whether any of it attracts a real audience or earns actual money.
Living with AI
Beyond demos and benchmarks, where does AI genuinely make everyday work and life better? And where is an ordinary tool still the better answer?
Latest experiment
Experiment 001
Not real.
Still worth looking at?
Can AI-generated artwork become a real little business?
I've created 19 artworks, tested physical prints and opened an Etsy shop. I've also discovered that AI doesn't eliminate nearly as much of the hard work as you might imagine.
More than 20 hours on shop setup alone, and I've barely started on marketing.
Now comes the interesting bit: will anybody buy anything?
Read the experimentSelected writing
Thoughts · 20 October 2026
Seven Million Songs a Day. Who’s Listening?
AI is making music creation almost limitless. What happens to artists, streaming services and listeners when the supply of music becomes effectively infinite?
Read the thought pieceThoughts · 12 October 2026
I’m impressed by AI. I’m less impressed by the circus around it.
Useful tools, autonomous agents, extraordinary investment and some uncomfortable questions. Where my enthusiasm meets my scepticism.
Read the thought pieceWho’s behind this?
I’m John Cairney. I spent most of my career working in technology and finished it as CTO of a large utility.
I retired in 2026, which gives me the useful combination of decades of technology experience and no particular need to pretend every new AI product is revolutionary.
INTGOM is where I indulge the curiosity.
For professional advisory work, there’s Cairney Advisory
Say hello
Something worth trying, a useful observation or a different take?