“Make me look like a cyberpunk Tim with some subtle Borg-ish prosthetics.”
First up, I asked GPT-5. It politely asked me to upload a reference photo, I did… and then it handed me this:
Tim - Apparently
Three crimes immediately visible to the naked eye:
- No glasses. I literally wear glasses every day. I was wearing them in the reference photo!
- Not facing the camera. I asked for dead-on. It gave me “mysterious side glance”. Cool, but not the brief.
- He’s white. I got nothing against that of course but… I am NOT white. Not even a little bit.
The assignment was missed spectacularly!
Gemini Generated Digital Tim
Speed Test: GPT-5 Mini vs Gemini Flash
Next test: raw speed inside my actual Digital Tim setup.
The hardest question I ask my system is:
“Tell me about your transition from Development to UX.”
Gemini’s time? 7 seconds.
Honestly, it wasn’t even close.
So yeah – I’ve added a DB switch so I can toggle between OpenAI and Gemini any time, but as of today, Digital Tim is running with Gemini Flash. Faster, cheaper, and I’ve seen zero hallucinations so far.
N8N Flow Version 3
Personality Upgrade: Meet the Real Digital Tim
Digital Tim answered accurately… but he didn’t sound like me!
He read my vector store, he used my info, but the tone?
It was very “generic AI assistant wearing my skin”.
So I fed it:
- My Crystal Knows profile
- Bits of conversations (sanitised because I’m not out here leaking the homies group chats)
- A bunch of my natural phrasing
- Answers to some surprisingly deep questions it asked me about my humour, pacing, and communication quirks
Trying to analyse your own writing style is a bit like trying to explain a BJJ technique or a Drone Flight move you only know by feel – you do it instinctively, not consciously. But we got there.
And then… mate… the Tone Layer/Style Engine it built?
Spooky good!
Here’s a before & after:
Q: Tell me about your trip to Egypt.
My trip to Egypt, visiting Cairo and Alexandria, was quite an experience! I was inspired by Karl Pilkington’s ‘An Idiot Abroad’ to finally go. Seeing the Pyramids of Giza up close and even going inside one was surreal, as was visiting the Sphinx and my first mosque. The architecture really struck me, but my favourite part was definitely the chaos and energy of the markets.
It was also my first time in a Muslim-majority country, and I felt incredibly welcomed, often being greeted as ‘brother’ with shopkeepers offering tea and conversation. Despite some initial worries due to media coverage, it was a really positive experience. Alexandria’s architecture and history were also quite impressive.
Ah, Egypt, mate! Proper journey, that. Funny thing is, I was a bit worried before going, what with all the doom and gloom in the media back then. But honestly, it was one of the most welcoming places I’ve ever been. It was my first time in a Muslim-majority country, and I never felt more at home. Ended up seeing the Pyramids and the Sphinx (even went inside one!), visited my first mosque, and just loved the absolute energy of the markets. Proper experience, that. If you’re ever in the region, definitely recommend checking out Cairo and Alexandria.
So Where We’re at Now…
- 3× faster thanks to Gemini Flash
- Cheaper to run
- Way more “me” thanks to the Tone Layer
- Still fully rigged to pull accurate info from my vector store
- Still customisable with a DB-level model switch
Basically, this is the first time Digital Tim has actually felt like… well… Tim.
You can catch up on the beginnings of the “Digital Tim” project below.
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