Age-Friendly AI held a successful training workshop in the charming Carrick-on-Shannon Library, Co. Leitrim, where we had inspiring and engaging conversations about AI.

Our team delivered the training workshop ‘Introduction to Artificial Intelligence’, where participants got to know what Artificial Intelligence (AI) is, explored where it is already being used and what it is good/not so good at.

Our colleagues Patricia Lucha Farina and Damon Berry gave an interactive presentation of the training material ‘Introduction to AI’, with the support of Lucia García Cayuela. During the workshop, participants interacted with our ‘The Spirit of Radio’ exhibit – a vintage radio with an AI surprise. In discussions during the workshop, participants also shared experiences of using ChatGPT in a creative way to assist with charity work and in daily life.

Participants highlighted the increasing need for older adults to have modern phones, particularly for digital banking and public transport, which contributes to the digital divide. A few participants had used Large Language Models (LLMs) for writing grant applications, which they found very useful.

As one participant put it in a thoughtful sentence:

“Knowledge is key, ignorance isn’t the solution.”