CLASSES ACROSS THE COUNTRY HELP SENIORS INTERACT WITH A WORLD ALTERED BY AI

This is how older adults — many of whom lived through the advent of refrigeration, the transition from radio to television and the invention of the internet — are grappling with artificial intelligence: taking a class.

Sitting in a classroom in an airy senior center in a Chicago suburb, the dozen students were learning about the latest — and possibly greatest — technological leap in their lives.

And they are not alone. Across the country, scores of such classes have sprung up to teach seniors about AI’s ability to transform their lives and the threats the technology poses.

“I saw ice boxes turn into refrigerators, that is how long I have been around,” said Barbara Winston, 89, who paid to attend the class put on at the North Shore Senior Center in Northfield. “And I think this is probably the greatest technical revolution that I will see in my lifetime.”

Older adults find themselves in a unique moment with technology. Artificial intelligence offers significant benefits for seniors, from the ability to curb loneliness to making it easier for them to get to medical appointments.

But it also has drawbacks that are uniquely threatening to this older group of Americans: A series of studies have found that senior citizens are more susceptible to both scams perpetrated using artificial intelligence and believing the types of misinformation that are being supercharged by the technology. Experts are particularly concerned about the role deepfakes and other AI-produced misinformation could play in politics.

Winston left the class to start her own AI journey, even if others remained skeptical. When she got home, the retired professor downloaded books on the technology, researched the platforms she wanted to use from her kitchen table and eventually queried ChatGPT about how to treat a personal medical ailment.

“This is the beginning of my education,” she said, her floral cup of coffee nearby. “I’m not worried about protecting myself. I’m too old to worry about that.”