Just Ask! (eBook)

Everyone is talking about it. Nobody explained it to you.

You have heard about artificial intelligence for years now - on the news, from the grandchildren, in the paper. What almost nobody has done is sit down beside you, in no particular hurry, and show you what it is actually for. That is all this book does.

Just Ask! is a calm, warm, large-print guide for people over 60 who feel quietly behind on all of this. There is no jargon, no hype, and no assumption that you already know anything. You will not be turned into a technologist. You will be shown, step by step, how to get real help with the letters, forms, bills, recipes, hobbies and questions that are already on your kitchen table - and, just as importantly, exactly when not to trust what comes back.

Inside this book:

What these tools actually are, in plain English - and why that one idea explains everything they do brilliantly and everything they get wrongMeeting the assistants - ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and the one already in your phone, and why you only need to pick oneYour very first conversation, from the very beginning, free, on the device you already ownThe five ingredients of a good question - the difference between a useless answer and a genuinely useful oneTalking instead of typing, if your hands, eyes or patience would ratherReal errands - the letter you have been putting off, the confusing bill, the official form, what to cook with what is in the fridge, the noise the dishwasher is makingPreparing properly for a doctor's appointment - and a firm, clear explanation of why it must never be your doctorWriting down your life story, one patient question at a time, in your own wordsPhotos and pictures - showing it a letter or a label to read aloud, and making a card or a posterWhen it gets things confidently, completely wrong - what it fails at most, and the habit that catches it every timeYour privacy - what should never be typed in, and how to write about something sensitive without identifying anybodySpotting what's fake - AI images, videos, cloned voices, and the one rule that beats all of themFifty ready-to-use questions, a plain-English glossary, and a troubleshooting page

Written for comfortable reading. Large print throughout, short paragraphs, generous numbered steps, and a checklist at the end of every chapter.

You are not late. Almost nobody knows how to do this yet. Start on page one, and take as long as you like.