Michael Rogers

I'm 71 and I figured out AI. Here's how I actually started.

I want to write this for other people my age because most of the advice about AI is written for young people and assumes you already know things I didn't know. I'm 71. Retired accountant. I've used computers since the 80s but I've never found them intuitive. My grandchildren set me up with Claude and explained the basics. The first thing I had to accept: you can talk to it like a person. Not commands. Not search terms. Just talk. My first proper conversation: "I'm trying to understand my new TV remote. Can you explain to me what each button does if I describe them to you?" That's it. That's how easy it can start. Since then: I've used it to help me understand my medical test results before seeing my doctor. To help me write letters I wasn't sure how to word. To help me research a car I was thinking about buying. To help me understand what my super fund documents are actually saying. Every time I use it I feel more capable, not less. I'm not dependent on my children for things I don't understand anymore. That independence matters to me enormously. If you're my age and think this isn't for you — please try it. Start with something small. Ask it to help you with one thing. See what happens.