How Hawai‘i Can Embrace AI to Move to the Forefront of the Right to Repair Revolution
AI Will Revolutionize Fixing Stuff, If We Can Just Get the Parts
Oregon this week threw down the gauntlet this week when Governor Tina Kotek signed the state’s new Right to Repair Act into law. Hawai‘i now has a chance to pick up the gauntlet and run a little further with it.
“Right to Repair” is just what it sounds; the idea that consumers and indepedent repair shops have the right to fix the things that we purchase, and must be provided the opportunity to do so through market access to a manufacturer’s parts, diagnostic tools, and published documentation. The Oregon statute comes on the heels of a similar act in California — actually exceeding that law in scope and consumer rights — and likely presages an acceleration of a movement that has obvious economic and environmental improvements.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Hmmm, this is an AI blog. I don’t see anybody taking a Phillips screwdriver to tweak a GPT anytime soon. What are you talking about?”
Well, imagine this: your refrigerator stops working unexpectedly. Instead of a frantic search for a costly technician, you pull out your phone. An AI-powered app guides you through troubleshooting, identifies the faulty part, and even helps you order a replacement.
Anyone that’s used tools like chatbots can probably visualize how AI will be used to assist people with repairs of just about anything. Already, the web is a terrific resource for information for fixes ranging from changing a bike tire, to replacing the drum of a washing machine, to moving a house on a truck (yes, I checked). Still, the most challenging thing about fixing things — at least, aside from applying brute force in tight spaces — is often knowing what the problem is in the first place.
This one place where AI can come in, combining the power of generative answers and burgeoning AI inference powers with increasingly open access to the internet and powerful image recognition. Far from being a science fiction hypothetical, there are already some interesting efforts cracking away at the AI-for-repair app market.
The crest of the wave for AI and repair is likely a couple of years out, waiting on stronger video analysis and synthesis of information from a wider range of sources than is currently tractable in a commercial app or site. But, it is certainly on its way, and — if artificial general intelligence (AGI) hits on the early end of industry estimates — the act of repairing just about anything will be transformed forever.
How this repair revolution will manifest in a local economy is yet to be seen, but it’s easy to imagine a number of new modalities of business: from highly skilled individuals teamed up with custom AI tools able to operate with seemingly impossible fluency in a given repair specialty; to large repair depots that find efficiencies by training mechanically and technically inclined people to competently repair vast ranges of products; to “repair fairs” for communities of amateurs with expert advice guiding their progress.
It’s possible not all of these approaches will pencil out into successful business models, but by vastly improving individuals’ access to knowledge and collective wisdom on specific products, surely the rising tide of fix-it efficiency will float one or more of these boats. Since at least some of the reduced costs and barriers of local repair activity are likely to displace the tradition of shipping goods to off-island depots, the potential local economic benefits are in any case very attractive.
What does all this mean for Hawai‘i? Well, residents know that the spirit of maintaining and renewing possessions is particularly vibrant here; one drive up Kam Highway on a busy day is more than enough to confirm that. Life is challenging for a number of our residents, so for many, reusing equipment and appliances isn’t a choice so much as a necessity. Still, even if that were not the case, I think we can safely say that the many cultures represented on these islands have a common affinity for making things last.
On top of this, we live on beautiful but isolated islands, where the shipping of goods is a major challenge, and the disposal of waste is doubly so. The environmental impact of moving any heavy goods onto the islands is inherently magnified by our distances from major manufacturing and distribution centers. So, while the right to repair is a green concept for everywhere, it’s especially green in paradise.
There are detractors to Right to Repair legislation in Oregon and other states, but these are mostly manufacturers with an economic stake in maintaining the status quo. Some industry groups suggest potential safety and cybersecurity risks stemming from the ability of consumers and third parties to repair products. However, these concerns can be effectively addressed, as Oregon’s carefully crafted legislation shows. Moreover, the potential economic and environmental gains for Hawai‘i are significant. Imagine local repair businesses thriving, waste reduction, and consumers saving money. These benefits far outweigh any potential drawbacks for manufacturers, most of which are located far from our shores.
And this is where we tie back to my my work with the Hawai‘i Center for AI and the point of this publication: thinking about positive futures for Hawai‘i using AI. The way that AI will affect common and centuries-old repair crafts in Hawai‘i is emblematic of the cross-cutting impacts that AI will have on so many of the everyday activities woven through our lives. We are at a critical moment to update Hawai‘i’s thinking about our policies, plans, and preparation for the changes to come. The waves are on the horizon, and we see them breaking on the outer reefs.
We can begin to imagine how Hawai‘i could transform its repair industries and invite and train new workers on AI for repairs even today — and I promise that from my role with the Hawai‘i Center for AI, we’ll work on helping to get that ball rolling. But, there is so much more we can do to get ready for the future, and that starts with policies today that predict the opportunities of tomorrow.
As for Oregon and SB 542 — and I am working here from admittedly limited knowledge of the deepest industry implications — the commentary surrounding the bill seems to be broadly positive, and the bipartisan nature of the adoption of the legislation is reassuring (if not outright refreshing!)
There is a bill similar to Oregon’s working through the Hawai‘i Senate now. While we won’t comment on the particular bill, we can observe that any legislation that would put Hawai‘i in lockstep with Oregon and California would be both beneficial to our islands and give the overall movement for Right to Repair more power. What’s not to like about that?
