Recently I've been playing around with some insanely cool tech projects that I think most people with basic Python knowledge can replicate on their own machines. They don't require any insane compute power and they aren't very expensive either. I want to break them down today and share how I did both - I hope I can convince you that you definitely need these in your life, because since implementing them, I really can't turn back!
OpenClaw - Say Hello to V.E.R.A.
By now, everybody probably knows that I'm obsessed with Spider-Man (especially his AI assistant E.V.). I was thinking about how cool it must be to actually be able to talk to something that operates like Siri but isn't stupid (sorry Apple). Speaking of which... Apple, contact me if you want to fix Siri. I can single-handedly revolutionize it completely. You won't regret it.
I was convinced to start using OpenClaw by my coworkers; basically, it functions like a personal AI assistant that you can host on your own machine. It can do almost anything I need it to - it has its own email, bank account, and access to apps on my device. Here's what I needed to be able to build it:
- A spare laptop (I am using a MacBook Air that I factory reset)
- An API key from an LLM provider (I'm using DeepSeek)
- A messaging channel (I use Telegram and iMessage)
And that's pretty much it for the major components. The rest of it (like Node.js and gogcli) and the software that makes up the tool belt are all downloadable and very easy to set up.
I leave the computer running throughout the day and just text it via Telegram or iMessage when I need it to do something. It's helped me by remotely compiling my podcast voice recordings together, converting them between forms for me (mp3 -> wav) and more. I can't even begin to describe how much more helpful I think it'll be once I go back to school in September!
If you are familiar with code, I highly encourage you to try this out yourself - just be aware that the setup can be difficult and you need to be prepared to consider different vulnerabilities your bot can be exposed to. You could host it on a device you use (if you get a Virtual Private Network/VPS) but it risks other people being able to get into it.
I called my assistant V.E.R.A. pretty much because it sounded cool. I couldn't use Friday, Jarvis, or E.V. since they were already taken, so this was the next best option. It stands for Virtual Executive Reasoning Assistant. The folks at the OpenClaw Foundation have already incorporated customization tools into it (like SOUL.md and IDENTITY.md) so you can tune and adjust the assistant to take on whatever role and/or personality that you'd like.
My Iron Man Arc - Building my own JARVIS!
I saw online that people were releasing their own open-source versions of Iron Man's iconic Jarvis - the AI assistant that he can activate with a simple double clap. I found one that I really liked, and I decided to actually build it! I'm super excited about it - it's genuinely so easy to do and makes you feel like a total badass when it starts working.
The only main issue I had was with a corrupted Intel Microphone driver software on my machine, but a simple uninstall and reboot cleaned that up nicely. It makes you feel insanely cool to be able to feel exactly like Tony Stark by just clapping your hands. It makes me think about what else you could build since this code is already available - I can't wait to share what I come up with.
If you want to know what it looks like, watch this. In the near future I either want to add video components to my podcast or start a YouTube channel (something that's on my bucket list). I'll definitely demonstrate my version of it there once I do.
Thanks for reading, and as always, look out for the next one!