AI makes the right to repair more tempting than ever

Our lives are littered with devices we don’t understand. We don’t know why the microwave suddenly beeps just past midnight, or why the dishwasher won’t run unless it’s been unplugged and then replugged three times, or why the laptop charges only when we push in the cord at that weird angle. Sometimes it seems like these questions are simply impossible to answer, preternatural quirks that can be fixed solely by calling a professional. Or these days, by opening up the ChatGPT app. Consumer AI tools are enabling more and more people to conduct their own device evaluations and repairs. The internet is filled with posts and videos of people documenting attempts at repairs on everything from phones to ovens to even fridges with the help of AI. Instead of calling a repair person, many people are simply turning to chatbots to field their questions and reassemble their broken appliances. Indeed, these tools can quickly mine the internet for repair manuals, propose diagnostics, and distill instructions into step-by-step guidance. iFixIt, which has assembled tens of thousands of repair guides, has even launched its own AI tool meant to guide people in these DIY projects. But the era of AI-em…