Like thousands of others, I recently jumped into building with OpenAI's API. It's amazing what AI can do, right? After building a few AI tools for myself and others, I decided to start Aurelius AI with my friend Patrick Burt. Aurelius AI is a service-based company that builds custom AI tools for small to medium-sized businesses.
Now, to the fun part.
Building Aurelius AI's Website with AI
When building the website, I wanted to do so using AI alone. It was a bit of a wild idea, but I'm the kind of person who likes to push boundaries. So, I used a combination of ChatGPT and GitHub CoPilot. Let me tell you, these tools are very powerful, but I definitely couldn't have done it without a really strong understanding of React JS, HTML5, CSS3, and prompt engineering.
Now, don't get me wrong, using AI for website development was a mixed experience. There were areas where it was super helpful, but it wasn't a complete solution. I had to manually input content for some sections of the website since the AI couldn't generate the desired output. And, while GitHub CoPilot was able to generate code for some of the more tedious tasks, I had to tweak it a lot to get it to work properly.
But, hey, using AI was still super cool! One area where it was particularly useful was in the creation of our logo. I designed it myself, but I used Playground AI for inspiration. Playground AI is a tool that lets you experiment with AI-generated artwork. I used it to create a poly-style Marcus Aurelius bust that I later turned into a 3D model that does mouse-tracking. It was a fun project that really showcased the creative potential of AI.
Now, prompt engineering on Playground AI was easier said than done. I think I'll be spending some time watching videos on how to properly use Playground AI. Comparatively, I'd like to try to use MidJourney AI to see if I prefer using that over Playground AI. I do have to say, the UI for Playground is extremely friendly and will probably garner more users over time.
Overall, using OpenAI's API to build our website was definitely a challenge, but it was also a really cool learning experience. AI has tremendous potential to transform businesses, and companies like Aurelius AI are at the forefront of this transformation. And, who knows, maybe you'll be inspired to try using AI in your next project too!
If you're interested in seeing the GitHub Repository for this website, feel free to check it out here: https://github.com/PSkinnerTech/project_aurelius-site
The website hasn't been deployed to its own domain just yet, but feel free to check it out here at this Netlify link: https://transcendent-babka-b2a340.netlify.app/