Women Over 50: Simplify Your Life with AI

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Okay. So I have a confession. Last

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week, I lost a battle with an automated phone

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system. You know, the ones press 1 for this, 2 for

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that. I swear it took 20 minutes just to get

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where I needed to be. It got me thinking.

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Is AI out to get us? Or with

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all the buzz about this technology, could it make our

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lives easier? As a woman over 50,

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I want answers. So today,

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we're venturing into a topic that's both fascinating

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and a bit mystifying for many of us. It's

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artificial intelligence or AI. Is

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it our friend or foe? And how

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it's changing things for women like us.

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Hello, beautiful ladies. Welcome back to another episode of 5

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to Thrive. I'm your host, Valerie Hatcher. Our

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mission is to provide empowering tips for women over 50 to

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help us navigate this vibrant stage in life with grace,

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style, and a whole lot of fun. Each week, I

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bring you 5 practical and engaging tips on a specific

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topic. I hope you find them relevant and relatable,

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and we'll come back for more. Ready for today's episode?

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Then let's go.

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So let's start with the basics. Artificial

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intelligence in its simplest form, it's about

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creating computers that can perform tasks, which

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typically require human intelligence. This includes

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things like understanding natural language,

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recognizing patterns, making decisions, and

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even creating art. It's not about creating

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machines that think exactly like humans, but

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about solving problems in a way that's inspired

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by human thought processes.

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AI has been around for a while. Actually, the

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concept dates back to the mid 20th century,

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but it's only in the recent years that technology

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has caught up with the vision. Thanks to advances in

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computing power and data collection. Now

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I know what you might be thinking. AI,

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isn't that for techies or the younger crowd?

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But stay with me. 1st, let's

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get rid of that scary sci fi image of robots

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taking over. Yes. AI is powerful,

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but it's essentially smart software.

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It learns from data, but it doesn't have a mind of its

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own. It's not about to walk out of your computer and

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steal your job. It's becoming a part

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of our everyday lives. Here's the thing.

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You're probably using bits of a AI every

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day and don't even realize it. Ever wonder

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how your email magically filters out

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spam or how Netflix knows

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that you'll love that cheesy show. It's

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AI. Your photos getting sorted by faces

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or maps finding the fastest route

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even with traffic. AI again,

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you don't have to be a tech genius to benefit. It's for

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everyone. Think of it like a supercharged

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assistant, always learning in the background.

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Honestly, AI has some serious potential to make

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our lives better. Now let's get practical for a

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minute. You want those old family recipes

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to be readable again? Well, snap a photo,

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and AI can trans transcribe the faded handwriting.

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Or maybe you're feeling overwhelmed by errands.

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AI can suggest the best time to hit the grocery store to

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avoid crowds. Even in the kitchen, it

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can help. If you are maybe struggling for dinner

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ideas based on what's in your fridge, AI can help with

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that. Maybe you want workouts tailored to

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you without a pricey trainer. AI

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can do it. So let's be honest. Some of

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us could use a digital assistant, and AI can

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fill that role. So here's a fun story.

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I got this smart vacuum, you know, one of those little robots

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that scoots across your house cleaning floors. Now I haven't

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named it yet, but I thought about naming it Rosie

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after the robot maid in The Jetsons. You remember The

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Jetsons. Right? But it's a perfect example

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of a practical, everyday use of AI,

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saving time and effort on a chore that none

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of us love doing. Well, I certainly don't.

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I know you're saying, okay, Valerie. That's

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great. But how can I use AI?

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Okay. Let me share a few ways that I use it.

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So think about organization. There are

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AI based apps out there that can help manage your calendar,

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sort your email, or even curate

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personalized meal plans. And for those of us who are looking

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to spark some creativity, there are writing

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aids, art generators, and music composition

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apps. But let me give you some specific

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examples to get you started. So for organization,

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try to doist, to do IST.

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Now this is one of my go to apps to stay organized. It

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really is. This is a to do list per se, but

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it's great for managing task with the help of AI.

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Or another app that I use is called Grammarly, grammarly,

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and it can help improve your writing, making sure that your

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message is clear and error free. And

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then for the learners that are out there, Duolingo,

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it uses AI to tailor language learning at

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your own pace. Then there's Spotify. I know we all

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know about Spotify. Well, Spotify employs AR

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to curate, personalized playlist and to

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recommend new songs based on your listing listening history,

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which kinda enhances that music experience. And

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there's Pinterest. I know we've all been on Pinterest at one time

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or another. Well, Pinterest uses AI to

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recommend pins and boards tailored to your interest,

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making it easier to discover new ideas and inspirations.

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Lately, I've been on Pinterest a lot as I'm trying to work through this

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home remodel. I'm on there looking for stuff for the

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kitchen and the bathroom, and it's cool because now it's

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picked up on that. So when I sign on, it's giving me recommendations.

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And then there's Waze. That's the app that I use for

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maps, but it's a r AI powered

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and it provides real time traffic updates,

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route suggestions, and alerts about road conditions,

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making driving safer and maybe more efficient.

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And there's one that's interesting. It's called RoboKiller. So it

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uses AI to block spam calls and protect users from

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phone scams by analyzing call patterns and

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blocking unwanted numbers. Now

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speaking of a creative assistant, there's a

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tool that I have to mention, and I'm sure you guys have all heard about

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it. It's Chat GPT by OpenAI.

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It's, a conversational AI that can

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write with you, brainstorm ideas, or just

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honestly simply chat about almost any topic

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under the sun. It's kinda like having a brainstorming

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buddy available 247, making it an

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excellent way for anyone to dip their toes into the world

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of AI. So I use chat g p t often.

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Okay. Let me be honest. I probably use it every day for something,

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but I've used it to help me with menus when I have no idea what

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to cook. I've used it for a meal plan. I

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think one day I asked it for a low carb meal plan,

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and it put together 1. I've used it for a workout plan.

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One time I was super busy, and so I added

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all that I had to do. And I asked asked it to help me

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with the schedule, and it did. We started my day, like,

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at 7, and I ended it maybe around

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8 PM. And so we allocated the

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time, of course, that I needed to work. But even breaks through my workout

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my work day, like, is there something I can fit in at noon or

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something I can fit in before work? And it helped me put together

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a schedule. Then sometimes when I'm writing, I'm a

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little wordy, and so I've actually used it to help me

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condense what I'm writing or even to brainstorm

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on topics. There's a free version of chat

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GPT. If you want to try it. Now

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you can always use it as the gospel. Now, sometimes

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AI has what they call hallucinations

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where it can create false information. So I

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wouldn't use it, like, to write a book, or do

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anything like that where maybe statistics are needed. And

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if you do make sure that you fact check,

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I've also used several other AI powered tools to

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help me with editing this podcast, but let's

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not get carried away. AI isn't perfect.

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It's not all sunshine and rainbows. AI is a powerful

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tool, and like any tool, it can be used for

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good or not so good. Remember that time that your bank

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maybe flagged suspicious activity and saved your savings?

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Well, scammers use AI too. They craft fake

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emails that are so real, they'd fool your mom or

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even you. Criminals can use AI to do

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voice clones or create realistic photos

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just to scam. I heard of an incident where

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they cloned a voice and called someone saying they

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were their grandson and

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they were in trouble and needed money. And so people have

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actually sent money to help who they thought was their

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grandchild or somebody else in the family.

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Sometimes AI, just like anything else, it ends up

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in the wrong hands, which is a reminder that being

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tech savvy is about staying aware,

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not just knowing how to swipe and tap.

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And let's address the elephant in the room. There's a lot of

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concern out there about AI, especially replacing

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human jobs. I have no magic ball, but I

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don't see that happening to the extreme of the

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conversations that I've heard. Remember,

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AI is a tool. It's one that can take our

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repetitive task or analyze data

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faster than we ever could, which then frees

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us up for more meaningful work. So friend

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or foe? I believe it's a friend, but

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actually, it's a bit of both. The key

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isn't fearing AI. It's understanding it and using

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it wisely. So when used

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responsibly, it can enhance our lives in

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countless ways. It's about understanding

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and engaging with AI. It's about using

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it and not letting it use us. We need to

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advocate for AI that works for us, not against

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us and stay in the driver's seat. Think of

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it as a tool, a powerful one, but it's up to

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us to decide how to use it.

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So how does AI show up in your life? Are you

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benefiting or you may be may be struggling?

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Because understanding AI isn't just about the future,

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it's about making our lives better right now.

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I hope today's episode has demystified AI a bit for

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you and maybe even spark some curiosity.

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AI isn't just for the young or the tech obsessed. It's

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for all of us offering opportunities to simply task

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or to simplify tasks to enhance

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creativity and even tackle big

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challenges. As always, I'd love to hear your

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thoughts. Have you had an interesting encounter

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with AI? Are there concerns that you'd like to discuss

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further? Let's keep the conversation going.

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Thank you so much for joining me for 5 to Thrive Tuesday. If you

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haven't already done so, please subscribe so that you don't miss an episode.

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If you enjoyed this segment, please rate, review, and share it with

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a friend. Let's stay connected on Instagram,

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Facebook, and or threads at I am Valerie Hatcher,

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or email me at hello at aging with grace and style.com.

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Until next time, let's continue to age with grace,

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style, and a touch of sass.