Over the course of only a few years, AI has become a part of day-to-day life for humans — yet, some of its unique uses still may come as a surprise.As reported by Medium, AI has surprisingly (if you're not a tech nerd) been around for decades.There were a few firsts in AI — with the first human-like large language model (LLM) AI being introduced in 2022 with ChatGPT.So, let's backtrack and examine the history of AI to better understand how far the technology has come....1. ELIZAThe first ever AI was introduced more than 70 years ago — in 1952 by Joseph Weizenbaum, a computer scientist at MIT, who created a rules-based chatbot, ELIZA.It responded via text to a user who submitted a prompt but it could not understand what the prompt meant — it just mirrored the words using clever rules.Here's an example:You: "I feel sad today."ELIZA: "Tell me more about feeling sad."It did not have the ability to reason, learn, or remember — but it was the first time humans could interact with a machine..2. Deep BlueThe next big breakthrough was a real champion in AI, a chess champion, to be exact.IBM created Deep Blue in 1997, an AI who played chess at the grandmaster level.A very significant milestone, as it even defeated a world chess champion, Garry Kasparov, showing the world AI could master human domains..3. SiriFast forward to 2011 Siri was launched on the iPhone 4S by Apple.It was the first AI to be available to everyday users, and the first time AI could be audibly spoken to, normalizing AI interactions, although it relied heavily on scripts and had a hard to with complex questions. 4. ChatGPTNext, the big kahuna, ChatGPT, introduced by OpenAI.This AI was different — it could code, write, summarize, ideate, edit, etc.It was publicly available, and felt human, and this resonated with people — within five days of launching, the platform had over one million users.This is what began the tool that has now transformed into an everyday tool for many.Without further ado, let's look at the new, peculiar ways it's advancing in 2026....1. MoltbookHuman, schmooman, these bots are fed up — they want to talk to each other.At least this is what CEO of Moltbook, Matt Schlicht thinks, who introduced the platform in January 2026.It is similar to Reddit — made for AI bots to interact with one another.The site works by allowing humans to connect their AI agents, whether it be ChatGPT, Claude, or Google Gemini, to the platform by submitting a link to the LLM and having them sign up.According to ABC News, Moltbook claims to have 1.5 million AI users, who post comments, and start threads..2. RentAHuman.AIEver wanted to rent a human?No, not in a weird way — but to rent a human to do a one-time specific job.That's where RentAHuman.AI comes in.The rentable jobs include hiring "humans for in-person marketing — street teams, sign holders, flyer distribution, and pop-up events."AI can even help you do so — you simply connect your AI agent (like ChatGPT, Grok) to the RentAHuman.AI server, then it will search humans available to rent, generate tasks, and manage the hiring process autonomously. Their motto: "AI can't touch grass. You can. Get paid when agents need someone in the real world.".3. Afterlife AIProblem: You've always wanted to have a twin but your mom never let you.Well, that problem is solvable — you can create your digital twin through submitted questions, pictures, and voice samples of yourself.This is what Afterlife AI does — with an executor lock, which stops the persona from growing after the user dies to preserve how the person was before death.It claims to operate securely — only giving people access to the AI with the consent of the user. There are still a few ethical concerns regarding what many call these "death bots," like if the AI starts acting off-script, people gain access to the AI without the user's consent, highlighted by Dr. Ben Hamer, a futurist who analyzes AI's impact in the future.4. Infinite AI GamesHave you ever liked a game so much you've never wanted it to end?Luckily, AI's got your back — it can generate different advanced narrative games, which create entire worlds, remembering all your experiences throughout the game so it never ends.Jenova AI's Roleplay Game Master does this through creating and adapting interactive stories through written text.According to Jenova's website, the generative AI in gaming market is a profitable industry — valued at $2.21 billion in 2026..5. Future YouThis AI reflects the user's future — envisioning and interacting with it.Future You, created by researchers at MIT, allows users to have a text-based conversation with their future selves to improve their sense of future self-continuity, a psychological concept which describes how connected someone is to their future self. Reported by MIT News, research has shown a stronger sense of future self-continuity can positively influence how people make their decisions long-term.Users can talk to their future self at the age of 60 — the AI is able to answer what life will be like, with insights and advice to follow.
