NORTHFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The students, most of them with gray hair, some with canes, all in their 60s at least, couldn't believe what they were hearing.
“Oh my goodness,” whispered the retired university professor.
“Does it have a virus in it?” wondered a confused woman sitting in the second row scribbling notes.
A 79-year-old man wearing a black and white floral shirt asked the question on many people's minds: “How do you know if it's fake?”
Seniors — many of whom are from a generation that saw the introduction of the refrigerator, the transition from radio to television and the invention of the internet — are wrestling with artificial intelligence with a class. Sitting in an airy classroom at a senior center in suburban Chicago, a dozen students were learning about the latest, and perhaps biggest, technological leap of their lifetimes.
And they are not alone: Across the country, many such courses are being held to teach older adults about the power of AI to transform their lives, and the threats the technology poses.
“I've seen iceboxes turn into refrigerators, I've been alive that long,” said Barbara Winston, 89, who paid to attend the class at the North Shore Senior Center in Northfield. “I think this is probably the biggest technological revolution I'll see in my lifetime.”
Seniors are living through a unique moment in technology. Artificial intelligence can offer significant benefits to older adults, from making them feel less lonely to making it easier for them to attend medical appointments.
But the technology also comes with drawbacks that pose particular threats to older Americans. A series of studies have found that older adults are more susceptible to artificial intelligence-driven scams and more likely to believe the kinds of misinformation amplified by the technology. Experts are particularly concerned about the role deepfakes and other AI-generated misinformation could play in politics.
While others were still skeptical, Winston decided to sneak out of class and begin his own AI journey. Returning home, the retired professor downloaded books on AI technologies, researched platforms he wanted to use at his kitchen table, and eventually contacted ChatGPT to inquire about treatments for his personal ailments.
“This is the beginning of my education,” she said, a floral coffee cup beside her. “I'm not worried about protecting myself. I'm too old to worry about that anymore.”
The lessons aim to expose older early adopters to the many ways technology can improve their lives, as well as to foster skepticism about the way artificial intelligence can distort the truth.
Experts in the technology say it's crucial for seniors planning to engage with AI to adopt a balanced approach to skepticism.
“It's a tough one,” said Michael Gershbein, who teaches the Northfield class. “Overall, it's good for seniors to be skeptical, but we don't want them to be paralyzed by fear and not try to do anything online.”
In his class outside Chicago, questions ranged from the silly to the practical to the academic: Why do so many new shoes come without laces? Can an AI create a multi-day itinerary for a trip to Charleston, South Carolina? What are the geopolitical implications of artificial intelligence?
Gershbein, who teaches a variety of technology-related classes, said interest in AI has skyrocketed over the past nine months. The 52-year-old teaches AI courses once or twice a week and aims to create a “safe space for[seniors]to come and talk about all the issues that they might be hearing about in bits and pieces, put it all together and ask questions.”
During a 90-minute session on a Thursday in June, Gershbein spoke about deepfakes, videos that use generative AI to make it look like someone said something they didn't. As he played a few deepfakes, a group of seniors sat in shock; they couldn't believe how realistic the fakes looked. There's widespread concern that these videos could be used to deceive voters, especially older adults.
But threats to seniors go beyond politics, ranging from basic misinformation on social media sites to scams that use voice cloning technology to trick seniors. According to an AARP report released last year, Americans over 60 are losing $28.3 billion a year to AI-assisted financial extortion schemes.
Experts at the National Council on Aging, an organization founded in 1950 to advocate for older adults, said senior centers have seen an increase in AI classes in recent years and are at the forefront of digital literacy efforts.
“There's a myth going around that older people don't use technology, and we know that's not true,” says Diane Stone, vice president of the National Council on Aging, who has run senior centers in Connecticut for more than 20 years. The courses are aimed at fostering a “healthy skepticism” about what technology can do, she says, and equipping older people with the knowledge that “not everything you hear is true. It's good to have information, but you have to use your own judgment.”
Shiwei Liu, a professor at the University at Buffalo, said it's a tough balance to strike, and that classes tend to either tout the benefits of AI or focus on its dangers.
“This kind of education for seniors is necessary, but the approach we take has to be very balanced and well-designed,” said Liu, who has spoken to seniors and other groups.
Advanced students who took these AI classes said they gained a clear understanding of AI's benefits and pitfalls.
“AI is only as good as the people who program it, and users need to understand that. They really need to question it,” said Linda Chipko, 70, who took an AI class in suburban Atlanta in June.
Chipko said she took the class because she wanted to “understand” AI, but when she left she said, “It's not for me.”
Some people are celebrating it. Ruth Schneiderman, 77, is using AI to illustrate a children's book she's writing, and the experience inspired her to take classes at Northfield to learn more about the technology.
“My mother lived to be 90 years old,” Shneiderman says, “and I learned from her that if you want to survive in this world, you have to adapt to change or you'll be left behind.”
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