GMF#28 | The Good, The Bad, and The Hype: How We Test Every New Tech Trend
TL;DR:
Before crypto crashed and AI took over, we were already deep in the rabbit hole of tech trends—testing everything from crypto mining for charity to AI-powered manga scanlations. Some ideas flopped, others sparked new possibilities, and today, AI-assisted coding might just be the game-changer we’ve been waiting for. If tech can help charities build last-mile tools faster and cheaper, maybe this is the trend that finally changes the world.
We’ve tested almost every major tech trend—blockchain, NFTs, AI, and more.
Crypto mining for charity and NFTs were cool experiments, but they didn’t take off.
We used AI for manga scanlations (and failed), then built Sidekick to help fundraisers.
Now, we’re testing AI-assisted coding to build last-mile tools for charities.
Maybe this next trend will finally change the world. Let’s find out together.
We’ve Chased Every Big Tech Trend—Here’s What We Learned
Every time a new tech breakthrough makes headlines, our minds race with one big question:
👉 “Can we use this to do good?”
We can’t help it. We love experimenting with new trends.
When blockchain promised a decentralized future, we bought crypto and tried mining it for charity.
When NFTs became the next big thing, we launched our own project.
When AI started generating art, we built a tool to help charities create better fundraising visuals.
And now, with AI-assisted coding, we’re seeing if we can build last-mile apps for charities—faster, cheaper, and with zero coding skills required.
Some ideas failed spectacularly, others led to unexpected discoveries, and a few are still works in progress. But that’s what we love—pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.
The Blockchain Hype Train (And Our Crypto Experiment)
A few years ago, you couldn’t scroll the internet without hearing about blockchain.
Decentralized systems.
Proof of stake.
Transparent, open ledgers.
It sounded like the ultimate game-changer for trust and accountability.
So, we dived in:
🔹 We bought crypto to play around with.
🔹 We explored building a plugin that let people volunteer their computers to mine crypto for charity (kind of like Rosetta@home did for DNA research).
🔹 We even launched an NFT project—Neon Pantheon—to see if fractionalized ownership could encourage long-term investment in social causes.
Spoiler alert: None of these went viral.
But we learned a valuable lesson—tech alone doesn’t drive change. People do. And for people to care, they need real, tangible benefits.
AI, Manga, and the Scanlation Experiment That Flopped
Then came AI, and we caught the bug early.
YouTube’s algorithm figured us out, and suddenly, we were binge-watching every new AI breakthrough (thank you, Two Minute Papers).
We were already handling tons of receipts and verification documents, so OCR and language models were on our radar. But instead of jumping straight into KYC automation, we took a detour:
👉 We tried using AI to solve scanlations for the manga community.
It was fun. But let’s be honest—Tokyo University’s team at Mantra AI did it way better than we ever could.
So, we scrapped that idea and kept searching for what AI could do best for social good.
Making AI a Sidekick for Fundraisers
When MidJourney exploded, we were fascinated by the idea of turning text into visuals.
So we built Sidekick (check it out here)—a tool that helps NGOs tap into AI-generated designs for fundraising content, without needing a full-time designer.
It was a small step, but it showed us that AI could help charities scale their impact without adding overhead costs.
AI That Codes: Is This the Game-Changer?
Now, we’re obsessed with another idea:
👉 What if AI could build tools for charities, without needing an expensive engineering team?
The latest AI coding assistants are beating human benchmarks, which means things that used to be too complex or expensive to build might now be within reach.
We’re already testing:
🔹 AI-assisted coding to see if charities can launch last-mile apps without developers.
🔹 Stacking Grok + Cursor + Vercel to test how fast we can prototype.
🔹 Hackathons where charities bring their wishlist, and AI + volunteers turn ideas into reality.
Oh, and yeah… we’re also just having fun whipping up retro games for our kids (or, let’s be real, for our inner child).
What’s Next? Maybe This One Will Change the World.
Some tech trends fizzle out. Some leave behind something useful. And some actually change everything.
We don’t know if AI-assisted coding is the one—but we’re excited to find out.
If you love experimenting with tech for good, or if you have wild ideas that just might work, let’s team up. The best trends start with curious people who dare to try.