Artificial intelligence (AI) mini-projects that students, researchers, or hobbyists can pursue. These projects cover various topics within AI and can provide valuable hands-on experience.

1. Chatbot Development: Create a simple chatbot using natural language processing libraries like NLTK or frameworks like Rasa.
2. Image Recognition: Implement an image classifier using a pre-trained model like ResNet or VGG16.
3. Sentiment Analysis: Analyze the sentiment of movie reviews or social media posts using machine learning techniques.
4. Stock Price Prediction: Use time series analysis and predictive modeling to forecast stock prices.
5. Face Recognition: Build a face recognition system using libraries like OpenCV and Dlib.
6. Handwriting Recognition: Using deep learning, develop a system to recognize handwritten digits or characters.
7. Recommender System: Create a recommendation engine for products or movies based on user preferences.
8. Traffic Sign Recognition: Implement a model that recognizes different traffic signs using convolutional neural networks.
9. Language Translation: Build a simple translation system using sequence-to-sequence models.
10. Voice Command Recognition: Use speech recognition techniques to create a system that recognizes and acts on specific voice commands.
11. Autonomous Driving Simulation: Develop a virtual environment to simulate and test autonomous driving algorithms.
12. Medical Image Analysis: Apply deep learning techniques to analyze medical images like X-rays or MRI scans.
13. Spam Email Classifier: Design a spam email classifier to categorize emails, a project that might resonate with your needs around email communication.
14. Weather Prediction: Utilize machine learning models to predict weather patterns based on historical data.
15. Generative Art: Create artwork using Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs).
16. Smart Home Automation: Build a model that learns and adapts to the user’s preferences in home automation.
17. AI-powered Games: Design a simple game that uses AI algorithms to challenge the player.
18. Customer Support Automation: Create an AI system for customer support inquiries.

These projects can be tailored to various skill levels and specific areas of interest within AI. Many can be expanded into more comprehensive projects or scaled to manageable mini-projects. Open-source libraries and frameworks like TensorFlow, PyTorch, and Scikit-learn can be incredibly helpful in building these projects.