anything about anything.” A far cry from the self righteous me of long ago. For example, I did not know that AARP Senior Planet offers courses of studies for seniors on a variety of subjects online, ranging from fitness and wellness to technology, including AI. (I can add the fitness videos to my accumulated exercise collection patiently waiting to be viewed on that yet-to-be-determined day when I feel motivated). Those courses are free unless you want to opt to take a class which would involve a fee but not a very large one.

There are also a lot of tech videos available on YouTube and always and endless array of books. I ordered “Artificial Intelligence for Dummies“ because the title seems particularly apt. At first, I dubiously wondered what the difference is between
using AI and simply doing a Google search on the web. Both Perplexity and ChatGPT provided easy to understand respons
es to that question and I felt knowledgeable.

With both Perplexity and ChatGPT you simply pose a question in a conversational way, as if you were asking your neighbor across the street, and you will get a detailed explanatory response. The more information you put into the question, the more detailed and helpful the answer.

For fun, I decided to ask for help planning dinner the other night, describing exactly what I had available in the refrigerator, stating I wanted something flavorful
and nutritious that was also quick and easy. Within seconds, I had a recommendation along with a recipe. Amazing!

Of course, there are disadvantages as well, and it’s important to use caution and common sense; we’ve all heard reports of exploitation and lawsuits about inaccurate and misleading uses of AI. The recent picture of President Trump dressed as the Pope that appeared on the web is a good example of how AI can be used negatively. It was a very realistic picture which was horrifying to a lot of people, perhaps
amusing to others. When something like that happens, there is no way to know who posted the picture and these occur too often, targeting the most vulnerable.

So there is a lot to know about AI, a lot to learn and I’m off on my quest to educate myself. After first check in with Perplexity or ChatGPT, of course, to find out where I should start.