What is an AI assistant?
An AI assistant is a computer program you can talk or type to in plain, everyday language. It answers questions, explains things and helps with daily tasks. It isn't a person and doesn't understand the world the way you do, but it has learned from an enormous amount of text and can answer a wide range of questions.
You've probably heard about artificial intelligence, or AI. Maybe from your children or grandchildren, maybe on the news. In the US, about half of all adults now use AI chatbots like ChatGPT, but among people 65 and older it's fewer than one in four, according to Pew Research Center. So if this feels new to you, you're in good company.
A program trained on an enormous amount of text
Generative AI is the kind of AI that can create new content, such as text, answers and pictures. The idea behind it is fairly simple: the program has been trained on huge amounts of text, including books, articles and websites. From all that material, it has learned which words tend to follow one another.
When you ask a question, the program works out the most likely answer. The UK government's AI guidance puts it this way: these programs return the most likely answer based on patterns in the data they were trained on, without actually understanding the content. But because they've learned from so much text, their answers are often correct and helpful.
Talking or typing
Some AI assistants you type to, a bit like writing letters on a screen. Others you can talk to, the way you would on the phone. For many older adults, talking is the easiest way in: there are no small keys to press and nothing to find on the screen. You just say what you want.
“It's just such a relief to say to Elsy: I don't know anything about this. And it's embarrassing, because a man my age ought to know it. And then she tells me: Don't worry about that. Let me help you.”
Helge, 72, talks with Elsy (translated from Danish)
What it is, and what it isn't
Keep three things in mind:
- An AI assistant isn't a person. It has no feelings or opinions, even when it sounds friendly and personal.
- It doesn't know everything, and it can be wrong. The UK's National Cyber Security Centre warns that AI tools can get things wrong and present incorrect statements as facts. Check important information before you act on it.
- It never tires of your questions. You can ask the same thing ten times, in the middle of the night, and nobody sighs. For many people, that's exactly what makes it worthwhile.
Is it for you?
You don't need to be good with technology to use an AI assistant. If you can talk on the phone, you can talk to an AI. Whether it's worth it for you depends on your daily life. Many people use one to get answers to questions, to be reminded of appointments, to have a difficult letter explained, or simply to talk through their day.
This is general information, not medical advice. Every situation is different, so talk to a doctor about yours.