Lesson 134 · 2 min
Helping grandparents with AI
Older relatives are prime targets for AI scams, and also stand to gain a lot from AI help, so teach them two or three habits instead of a whole course.
Grandparents often get fake calls from "grandchildren", "police" or "the bank". They may also struggle with small print, forms and new apps, which AI can make easier.
Start with one useful thing: reading a menu or a medicine label aloud with the phone camera, or asking a voice assistant the weather. Success builds confidence.
Then teach the safety habits in plain words: hang up and call back, never share codes, never install apps from a link, and call a family member before any payment.
Write the rules on paper near the phone, together with the numbers they should call. Check in often and never make them feel silly for asking.
Do it now
Make a safety card for the fridge
- 1. Write four rules in big letters: "Hang up and call back. Never share codes. No apps from links. Call family before paying."
- 2. Add your number, a second relative's number and the bank's hotline.
- 3. Stick it near the phone and go through it together once.
Quick check
Keep going
Next →Voice assistants and your privacyWords from this lesson
- Text-to-speech
- AI that reads written text aloud in a natural-sounding voice.
- Voice cloning
- Using AI to copy someone's voice from a short recording so it can say anything. Common in phone scams.
- AI literacy
- Knowing enough about how AI works to use it well, spot its mistakes and decide when not to use it.