At the Optum Community Center in Goodyear, seniors gathered this week for a class on a topic dominating headlines and reshaping daily life: artificial intelligence.
The workshop, led by operations manager Allen Gordon, aimed to help residents 55 and older understand what AI is, how it’s used, and how to avoid scams tied to the fast-growing technology.
“My goal is to illustrate to our demographic how AI is present today, how they can recognize how it can be used to augment their life and things to watch out for in scams,” Gordon said before the session.
The presentation is part of broader programming at the center, which focuses on physical fitness, emotional resiliency, cognitive stimulation and socialization. In addition to exercise classes and technology workshops, the location recently added on-site primary care services, allowing members to see a provider and attend classes in one place.
Gordon holds a master’s degree in artificial intelligence from Arizona State University and an additional certification in generative AI through Microsoft. He said he switched his academic focus mid-program when ASU launched its AI concentration.
He said older adults can be underserved when it comes to rapidly changing technology.
“With technology, there’s a huge learning curve,” Gordon said. “I want to make sure that the population that comes in, they walk away knowing exactly how to use it, how to recognize it, and how to leverage it themselves.”
During the class, Gordon explained that AI already appears in common tools such as voice assistants like Siri and Alexa, as well as chatbots and generative programs such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini.
He described AI as a probability-based system trained on large amounts of data.
“AI does not have feelings. It follows patterns and data,” he told attendees. “It is your assistant. It is meant to augment and make things more efficient, but it is not supposed to give you the one perfect answer.”
Gordon led with practical uses, like scheduling and producing recipes or shopping lists. He also gave examples of AI assisting in health care by helping analyze medical images or transcribe notes.
“We do not want to rely on AI to diagnose us,” he said. “We want our provider and our professionals to be the ones having the last say.”
He also urged participants to verify information and avoid sharing sensitive personal data.
“We want to make sure that we fact-check everything,” he said.
For John Placko, the class offered practical guidance rather than alarm.
Placko, who joined the community center about a year and a half ago after a friend recommended it, attends exercise classes with his wife several times a week.
He said he attended the second AI session to better understand how to use the technology. Placko has experimented with ChatGPT and Google Gemini and said the workshop helped him to refine how he asks questions.
“I think I learned to use (AI) better, and I learned that it’s more integrated already than I thought,” he said.
With a background in health care, Placko said verifying information is already part of his routine.
“If something comes up, I go back to the original sources to see what they have to say,” he said. “That’s one of the things I talked about in class today. We need to validate the data.”
Unlike some of his peers, he said AI itself does not intimidate him.
“It’s not really scary, especially when Allen describes it as augmenting tasks and not replacing people” he said. “I think social media intimidates me more than AI, because that’s where the false information gets distributed across a broader land. That’s where AI picks it up from.”
Beyond the technology lessons, Placko said the center’s sense of community keeps him and his wife returning.
“There’s very little judgment in the group here,” he said. “We’ve met a lot of people that we never would have met if we hadn’t come here.”
Gordon said connection is central to the center’s mission.
“We want it to be a home away from home for all of our members,” he said.
As AI continues to evolve, he said his goal is empowerment, not fear.
“The goal for me today is really to have everybody walk away with new points of knowledge and a new level of understanding,” Gordon said, “and then walk away with confidence on how to use it and also know exactly when not to use it.”
James Goldmeer Reporter | Goodyear & Litchfield Park
Meet James James Goldmeer joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2024, starting their career as a reporter in Goodyear and Litchfield Park.
Community: James grew up in the West Valley, calling Avondale home and going to school in Glendale and Peoria. Returning to the community after university, James plans to get involved in everything arts and culture, and civil rights.
Education: Northern Arizona University a bachelor's degree in Journalism, a certificate in Professional Communications, with a minor in English.
Random Fact: James spent half a year as an intern for the Arizona House of Representatives communication team, working with legislators to inform the public through press releases and social media.
Hobbies: James collects postcards and old books, reads memoirs and attends local jazz shows.
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