AI for Senior Learning
Empowering seniors to learn Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is like teaching a computer to think and learn like a human.
Imagine if your computer or smartphone could learn from its experiences, make decisions, and understand language. That's what AI aims to achieve.
It's not about robots taking over the world; it's about creating smart tools to help us in everyday life.
AI has racial and gender biases because the data used to build AI contains data collected from scanned books, documents, and websites. As more people use AI, more data points can be collected to reduce the inequities in our world's data.
What is Machine Learning?
Machine Learning is a part of computer science that allows computers to learn without being specifically programmed to do certain tasks. It allows computers to recognize patterns in extremely large data sets—millions of data points—and make decisions based on those patterns quickly. Quantum computing advances have enabled Artificial Intelligence to come to the everyday person.
Why Is Data So Important in AI?
Artificial Intelligence runs on data. Lots of data. A recent New York Times article said that the volume of data is crucial. Leading AI chatbot systems have learned from pools of digital text spanning as many as three trillion words, or roughly twice the number of words stored in Oxford University’s Bodleian Library, which has collected books since 1602 (the Mayflower landed on Plymouth Rock in 1620!). High-quality data could use all the high-quality data on the Internet as soon as 2026. The companies are using the data faster than it is being produced. Metz et al. (2024).
The AI models use massive amounts of data, and that data can teach you new skills. One AI conversation at a time.
How to Talk to AI: Prompting
AI doesn't always provide answers like Google. If you need specific answers, you must give them exact instructions.
What is an AI prompt?
An AI prompt is like the question or instruction you give the Chat to start the conversation and tell it exactly what you want it to do.
AI prompts guide the AI so it can respond helpfully. For example, if you want to know more about Time Travel, you could ask the AI to become Albert Einstein and discuss the nature of universal time.
You may also get false answers from AI chats. That's why each AI model has a disclaimer in small print that the answer may not be factual. In lay terms, it's called a "hallucination." The AI model searches millions of data points but may not have the information in its records or may have partial records. The "hallucination" is AI filling in the incomplete data with non-relevant or just plain wrong data. Check your AI answer against a different AI model if you are unsure or need a true answer.
Identify the 'AI Personality' you need to solve your question. What expert can answer your question?
Step 1
Step 2
In the Chat, describe the 'AI Personality Traits' that it needs to answer your question. Tell it your question. [Enter]
Always check 'AI Personality' answers with another AI before you accept it as fact!
Prompt: Show me a photographic image of an Egyptian cat.
Below is an AI picture of an Egyptian cat!
Step 3
If it's an important question- double-check the answer using another AI model.
Develop my Prompt: As a world-class chef with 5-star rated dishes to your credit, make a recipe from the following ingredients: milk, flour, eggs, and butter.[Enter button]
Example Prompt: Finding a world-class chef's recipe
Step 1
Step 2
I need a world-class chef's recipe for the ingredients I have available in my kitchen. I have milk, flour, eggs, and butter.
Step 3
Check Your Answer! Always check 'AI Personality' answers with another AI before you accept it as fact!
Classic Crepes Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons melted butter, plus more for cooking
ChatGPT 4
Delicious Homemade Pancakes
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 large egg
2 tablespoons melted butter (plus extra for cooking)
Optional toppings: maple syrup, fresh fruits, whipped cream, etc.
You.com
Perplexity.AI
Basic Crepes Recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons melted butter
A pinch of salt
This prompt was given to 3 different AI models.
Here are the results. Are they the same? Which one is closest to the Prompt?
Prompt: As a world-class chef with 5-star rated dishes to your credit, make a recipe from the following ingredients: milk, flour, eggs, and butter.[Enter button]
Example Prompt AI Answers
Find some ready-made prompts at
PerplexityAI is a good model for asking questions because if it needs more information from you to answer, it asks you to give more information.
Google Gemini improves with each update. It's one to watch and see how it evolves. It has a lot of data from its Google family.
Poe.com is the sharp Swiss Knife of AI! It's home to Claude AI, and the models are getting faster and smarter. It has chatbots that offer specialized chats like making AI photos and images and learning how to write stories.
You.com is what an Internet Search engine should be like. You.com AI has Android and iOS apps and browser plug-ins. It also provides links to where the answer to your question was found. You can upgrade to the Pro version at a cost, but the basic version is still good.
ChatGPT is like a super-smart helper on the internet. It's made using artificial intelligence, a natural language that can understand and respond to what you say, almost like a real person, but it's still a machine.
You can ask ChatGPT questions by typing or speaking. You can ask anything or ask it to write a poem that sounds like it was written by Yoda from Star Wars. You can ask it to make up recipes or answer a mathematical problem.
Find a model that works for your questions, learning, and features. Most have voice-to-text and can read uploaded PDF documents. Do your experiments with prompts. You can have long chats with AI, but remember, it's learning from the data we put into it.
AI Models
Expand your horizons and connect with others by learning a new skill. These AI models have FREE levels. You sign up with an email address and password- some sites require a phone number.
Learn AI Skills
Improve Your Computer Skills
Use AI to open doors to learning new computer skills- ask it 'How To' or 'How Do I' questions on almost limitless topics.
Improving your computer or cellphone skills will make learning AI a breeze. Improving your highlighting, copy-text, and paste skills will save you a lot of retyping prompts.
Learn how to upload and download files—especially if you only use a phone or tablet. You can upload a PDF file to some AI models, and they will answer your questions about the file and discuss the subject.
About this Project:
Gaining Digital Skills Through Technology
Many seniors over 65 left the workforce before business computers sat on every desk like they do today. Computer technology changed how we used to work and live. The cell phones we use today have more computing power than the computers used for the Apollo 11 space missions (Dgpt, 2023).
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has a greater potential to change how we work, live, and learn. This site was developed to give seniors an engaging experience with AI who are challenged by learning computer-based activities, like making online appointments, checking their healthcare apps, or navigating a particular internet site. The site links AI sites to provide an easier way to try different AI models in one location.
Why do I need an email address to use AI models?
A. AI sites need your email address to verify that you are a person, not a malicious computer program. You can use a site like SimpleLogin to hide your main email address from websites. Follow the instructions to get an Anonymous email address. Your anonymous email address will be forwarded to your regular email, where you can read or reply while keeping your main email address private.
Proton Mail is FREE and can send emails to Google, Yahoo and other favorite email addresses, hiding those email addresses. Sign up is easy.
How will using this site make it easier to learn AI?
A. The AI models listed on this site are friendly and easy to start using to ask questions. You'll be an expert in no time!
Why are some of these AI models charging monthly payments?
A. The AI models listed on this site are free for the low-use person. If you want to have more AI time and to make videos or write stories, most charge $20 a month.
Where else can I learn about AI for free?
A. Futurepedia is a Directory for lots of AI sites. You can search for free AI sites but it also includes pay sites. If you want to have more AI time and to make videos or write stories, most charge $20 a month.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to Make Those Cool AI Pictures: Use Copy and Paste Skills
Make your Prompt detailed:
Prompt: Generate friendly, detailed, easy-to-follow images on highlighting text on a smartphone, using a finger to tap and select to copy and paste text from the internet.
Sometimes, the Prompt doesn't work. Don't give up! Consider using another AI model or a different AI tool to check your Prompt. You can ask the AI model to write a Prompt that answers your questions.
Warning: Do not look closely at the AI hands because you cannot 'unsee' them.
Below are a few sites to check out. Have Fun!
The best of many AI Prompt tries is below. Unfortunately, the 1st step was missing.
Copy and paste are regular browser features on your phone and tablet. Using more than one AI model at a time makes it easier to write your Prompt, copy it, and paste it into your second AI model, and sometimes third AI model. This will save you time and typing the Prompt in each AI model.
AI generated pictures showing how to highlight, copy, and cut text on a cellphone.
From StableDiffusion AI: Prompt: Make a photographic image of a beautiful senior African American woman having tea on a veranda on the planet Mercury
Remember AI is not always correct-even in pictures. I used AI some pictures for this website. Can you spot the AI pictures? Can you see what's different in the last picture?
Free and Fun Video Games by Google Arts & Culture
Play music while you wait! No fancy stuff- use your finger on your phone and a mouse on a computer or laptop to play music.
Thank you to all the Testers who provided feedback on the site. Thank you Bashir. This site was developed as the Capstone project for my MSIT degree program, University of Cincinnati.
Reference: New York Times article, Metz, C., Kang, C., Frenkel, S., Thompson, S. A., & Grant, N. (2024, April 9). How tech giants cut corners to harvest data for A.I. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/06/technology/tech-giants-harvest-data-artificial-intelligence.html?searchResultPosition=3