AI is useful for a lot more than just generating funny images. It can actually accomplish a lot more, such as restoring the functionality on products that a manufacturer has stopped supporting.

A Reddit user has detailed how they were able to restore their Samsung washing machine's connection to the internet, and thus regain access to its smart home features, that Samsung had dropped support for.

This user had purchased a Samsung washing machine over 10 years ago. It had a smart control functionality which allowed for control over the machine's various features through the app. Several years down the line, Samsung decided to end support for the connected device features on the washing machine.

That user was already using other Samsung products as part of their connected home ecosystem, so they didn't quite like that their washing machine was now outside the ecosystem.

They turned to Claude AI and all it took was about 2 hours to restore the smart control features on the washing machine, including the link between the machine and the dryer, which automatically sets the required settings for the dryer once the washing cycle is done.

While this may be a good way to take back control over your devices, it could potentially expose users to security vulnerabilities, because no amount of AI-powered stopgap solutions can make up for the lack of official support.