Artificial Intelligence for everyone
AI applications in senior daily life - A comprehensive guide to safe and effective use of artificial intelligence for older adults.
About the project
The “Artificial Intelligence for everyone - AI applications in senior daily life” project is an initiative by Fundacja Enabler, implemented in partnership with the Spanish organization CREA 360 SL under the Erasmus+ program. It responds to the growing interest among seniors in artificial intelligence and the need to practically understand its applications in daily life.
The main goal of the project is to develop and test a comprehensive educational offer that will introduce older adults to AI and demonstrate how technology can support their daily activities - from managing finances, through creating personalized materials (such as stories or recipes), to using digital assistants and health-supporting tools. Simultaneously, participants will learn about misinformation-related threats and ways to prevent them.
Project activities:
- Development of 18 practical educational workshops and 4 workshops dedicated to cybersecurity in the context of AI
- Transnational mobility for 16 seniors (8 from Poland and 8 from Spain) who will participate in a six-day program in Alicante
- Participation of 20 trainers (10 from each organization) in activities promoting and testing the prepared educational materials
- Exchange of experiences and good practices between educational staff from Poland and Spain
Additional activities will include workshops for seniors at the local level, provision of materials to University of the Third Age in the Pomeranian and Kuyavian-Pomeranian voivodeships, and training for educators.
Target group:
The project involves seniors at risk of social exclusion (e.g., people with disabilities, low income, or living in poorly connected areas). Through the use of an individualized approach and consideration of participants' needs, the activities are inclusive and meet the “inclusion and diversity” standard.
Project impact:
The project implementation will bring lasting effects - educational materials will be made available in three languages (Polish, Spanish, and English), and the “Artificial Intelligence for everyone” program will be incorporated into the regular offer of both organizations. This initiative will help reduce the educational gap in AI utilization by older adults, increasing their digital competencies, independence, and sense of security in the digital world.
Development of “Artificial Intelligence for everyone: A guide to safe AI use for seniors”
One of the intellectual outputs of the project is a brochure for seniors. Its aim is to educate seniors about conscious, safe, and critical use of artificial intelligence technologies.
Structure and content of the brochure:
Introduction
- Explanation of what artificial intelligence (AI) is, with a simple metaphor of an "intelligent assistant"
- The purpose of the brochure: teaching seniors how to safely use AI and protect their privacy
- Emphasis on the growing presence of AI in everyday life
- Information that people 60+ are often targets of internet fraud – hence the need for education
Chapter 1: Recognizing fake news and fake images
Seniors learn how to recognize AI-generated photos. The brochure presents 10 typical errors, including unrealistic hands and fingers, distorted eyes and teeth, strange connections of body elements, unrealistic reflections and shadows, lack of logic in scenes, distorted text and numbers, or errors in perspective and space. Each point is illustrated with a real-life example and a simple analogy (e.g., "a glove that doesn't fit").
Chapter 2: Image protection on the internet
Seniors learn:
- What privacy settings to set on social media platforms
- Why not to publish photos of grandchildren without parents' consent
- How to react when someone uses their photo without permission
- How to verify requests to send photos
Chapter 3: Safe prompting
Explains the concept of "prompting" as formulating queries to AI. Recommendations:
- Do not provide personal data (address, PESEL)
- Avoid financial information
- Protect family privacy
- Be careful of suspicious AI behaviors (e.g., requests to click on a link or provide a password)
- Formulate general, not detailed questions – specific examples of good and bad prompts are shown
Chapter 4: Critical approach to AI
- AI is a tool, not a human – it has no feelings, consciousness, it doesn't make decisions
- Explanation of what "AI hallucinations" are – made-up, untrue information
- Emphasis on the need to verify information from AI in other sources
- Debunking myths about AI – a list of things AI cannot do (e.g., think like a human, have emotions, understand context, create original art)
- Reminder that common sense and senior's life experience are irreplaceable
The brochure was prepared according to the PDF/UA standard, which means full accessibility for screen readers. Appropriate font size (14 pt), high contrast, left alignment, and alternative texts for graphics were used.
Brochures
A simple and practical guide that helps seniors safely use artificial intelligence, protect their privacy online, and recognize digital threats.
Digital supplement to “Artificial Intelligence for everyone: A guide to safe AI use for seniors”
The “Artificial Intelligence for everyone: A Guide to Safe AI Use for Seniors” brochure has a digital supplement in the form of a dedicated website available at: https://seniorai.fundacjaenabler.pl
The website was designed with older adults in mind – featuring simple navigation, large fonts, and contrasting colors, making it friendly and accessible for people with special visual or motor needs.
Main thematic sections:
- Recognizing fake images
Contains an interactive guide with examples of AI-generated photos and detailed discussion of characteristic errors (e.g., unnatural hands, facial distortions, incorrect shadows, perspective errors). Seniors can see how these errors look in practice – making learning more intuitive and engaging.
- Privacy and image protection
Section includes practical tips on privacy settings for popular social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram), information about image rights, and examples of dangerous everyday situations. It also contains templates for messages that can be used when someone violates user privacy.
- Safe prompting
Presents principles for formulating queries to AI systems safely and anonymously. It includes examples of "good" and "bad" prompts, along with explanations of why some are safe while others risk data exposure. Seniors learn how to avoid unconsciously sharing sensitive data.
- Critical approach to AI
This section focuses on developing awareness that AI is not an authority but a tool. Users learn about AI "hallucinations," how to verify responses, and the difference between knowledge and knowledge simulation. Common AI myths are also presented and debunked in an accessible way.
Additional educational materials:
The website includes a section with downloadable educational materials in PDF format, including:
- AI image recognition checklist
- Personal data protection mini-guide
- Template for independent analysis of suspicious situations
The website was designed according to WCAG 2.1 principles, meaning it can be easily used by blind and visually impaired people with screen readers. It features high contrasts, simple content layout, and friendly headers.
Local workshops for dissemination of “Artificial Intelligence for everyone: A guide to safe AI use for seniors”
Based on the content of the “Artificial Intelligence for everyone: A Guide to Safe AI Use for Seniors” brochure, Enabler Foundation trainers conducted a series of practical educational workshops for older adults. The activities took place from March to April 2025.
As part of local activities, cooperation was established with several non-formal education centers, including the University of the Third Age in Reda, the Senior Activity Center in Gdynia (operating at UTW Gdynia), the Medical University of the Third Age in Włocławek, as well as with a group of participants regularly attending educational programs conducted by the Enabler Foundation. The meetings aimed to disseminate knowledge about artificial intelligence, develop a critical approach to AI-generated information, and teach digital security and privacy protection principles.
Workshop materials:
Each participant received a printed version of the brochure, which served as a starting point for discussions and practical exercises, along with a set of additional materials specially prepared for older adults. These materials included:
- Checklist - A clear compilation of tips for recognizing fake or manipulated images generated by artificial intelligence. Participants learned to pay attention to distorted hands, perspective errors, unrealistic shadows, or inconsistencies in the image's graphic style.
- Personal image protection guide - Contains not only basic legal information but also practical instructions on how to secure photos on the internet, set privacy on social media platforms, and respond to unauthorized use of one's image.
- Personal data security guide for AI interactions - Clearly explains what kind of information should never be shared with AI systems – such as PESEL number, residential address, health details, or financial data. The guide also includes examples of potentially dangerous prompts and ways to formulate them safely.
- Concise fact-checking guide - Teaches seniors how to use reliable information sources, verify data obtained from AI, and understand what is meant by language model "hallucinations." It also discusses the differences between a tool and an authority – emphasizing that AI should not be treated as an infallible source of knowledge.
Impact and results:
Over 250 seniors participated in the workshops, confirming the high demand for this type of educational activity among this age group. The high attendance and very positive reception from participants confirmed the need to continue activities in building digital competencies of older adults, taking into account security, critical thinking, and responsibility for shared data.
Development of “Artificial Intelligence for everyone: AI applications in senior daily life” - Educator's script
As part of the project, a script for educators working with seniors is being developed – work on the publication will be completed in June 2025.
Workshop scenarios:
The script will contain 18 workshop scenarios:
- Creating personalized coloring pages for grandchildren
- Digitization and organization of culinary recipes
- Personalized guide for senior physical activity and diet
- Generating stories and fairy tales for grandchildren
- Personalized language lessons and conversations
- Creating family trees and bringing photos to life
- Gardening assistant
- Discovering Europe with AI – culture, languages, and traditions of EU countries
- AI as support in learning new technologies (smartphones, tablets, applications)
- Virtual book and film club with AI
- AI for solving crosswords, puzzles, and brain teasers
- Travel planning workshops with AI
- Creating digital greeting cards
- Online shopping assistant with AI
- Virtual museums and time travel – how to explore the world from home with AI
- Virtual walks through childhood places with AI and Story Maps
- Creating recipe cards and labels for home preserves with AI
- "My Rights in the EU" – senior's digital guide to civil rights
You can find the script in the following section.
Gallery
A couple of photos showing our activities.
