Mesa year-round resident Jim Bowler, 90, teaches free classes about Artificial Intelligence to residents of the Fountain of the Sun retirement community.
He teaches how AI can compose a nice …
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Mesa year-round resident Jim Bowler, 90, teaches free classes about Artificial Intelligence to residents of the Fountain of the Sun retirement community.
He teaches how AI can compose a nice poem for a granddaughter’s birthday, convert an email written in English to Swedish to send to non-English speaking relatives, or demystify in layman’s terms MRI or blood-test results so they can have an intelligent discussion with their doctor at a follow-up meeting.
Bowler first learned about AI because of a book his son authored that is titled “EngAIged.”
Name: Jim Bowler
Age: 90
Early years: Born in the Bronx, New York City. Hired as a full-time butcher when I graduated from high school. This job lasted almost two years until I was drafted into the Army for a two-year hitch. One year was spent in Korea and then I was transferred to an Air Force group for my Korea tour.
Early adult: I’m now a veteran, 21 years old, who needs a job. Fortunately a relative gave me an introduction card to the phone company where I was hired and spent some 34 years with them. Initial job was as a cable splicer working on cables in manholes and on poles. I was also an engineering manager and then later a database manager. I retired in 1990 but continued to work as an engineering contractor for an additional 15 years.
In 1957, I married the girl around the corner, Terry. Had two children, Jim and Margaret born in the Bronx. And then another son, Tom, born after we moved to suburban Long Island. During this period I attended night school and earned a bachelor of science degree in physics from CCNY and after that a master of science degree in management from CWPost.
Retired adult: Currently widowed, my wife, Terry, passed in 2011. I have three children and have since added a son-in-law and a daughter-in-law plus four grandchildren.
Where did you learn about Artificial Intelligence — AI?: AI, interesting that the term kept coming up but no one seemed to know what it was or what it did. Too many people had negative comments such as “watch out! It’s taking over everything”; “What is it?”; and “What does it do?” But it always turned out they didn’t know what they were talking about. Fortunately, my son, Jim, who works in the digital world, wrote a book, “EngAIged”, on the subject and I received a complimentary copy. My immediate reaction upon reading it was that it was so simple to use and queries were limited only to my own curiosity.
When and why did you decide to teach AI?: It didn’t take me long to figure that I had to let my friends know what they were missing. Preparing a course outline was not too difficult. I had done some teaching during my working career. Some engineering for newly hired engineers. I also did considerable instructing when managing the design of a user-friendly database. This was during the mid-’70s and I was teaching non-techies how to write applications that would print out the monthly reports that were typically prepared manually. More difficult was getting classroom space and working around the existing schedules of various computer groups. Advertising was also a problem for a while until I got involved with some of the community websites.
The classes I conduct are free and limited only to FOS residents.
What do you teach seniors?: They’re not in the business world anymore so spreadsheet analysis is out as are many job-related projects. How about finding a recipe for something new with AI proving instant results as opposed to the classic time-consuming Google search through multiple websites. How about AI composing a nice poem for your granddaughter’s birthday. How about finding out the most interesting tourist spots in a city you’re planning to visit. Nice restaurants in the same city. In your price range. Or clothing suggestions to handle the local weather. How about writing an email in English and having AI convert it to Swedish to send to your non-English speaking relatives. How about entering MRI results into AI and getting, in layman’s terms, what the likely problem is with some probable treatments. So then you can have an intelligent discussion with your doctor at the follow-up meeting. Blood test results. How about the business plan AI published for a craftsman who knew his craft but was in over his head with taxes, W2 forms, IRA plans, etc., etc. AI published and we refined to reflect his actual situation. How about a user manual for a (enter a make and model for something). How about AI drawing a nice picture of a family enjoying Christmas dinner. And yes, I know all of the above is already available through regular search engines but AI is much faster and avoids searching through websites for the info. Usage is only limited to your curiosity.
What originally brought you to the Valley?: I moved here in late 2020. At some point the house seemed too large for a single person and perhaps I was developing some wanderlust. At any rate I put the house up for sale, during the COVID outbreak. I gave my children some things that they wanted and then sold or disposed of everything else. I packed up my car with everything I owned and left for Arizona, address unknown. My son had a job here a few years ago. And I used to visit him every March to catch some spring training games when he was off and do some touring when he was working. That sort of sold me on Arizona.
How long have you lived in the Fountain of the Sun retirement community?: Having arrived in Arizona in late 2020, I found Fountain of The Sun through the rental site, Airbnb. Eventually, I rented for a while and eventually bought a house where I currently reside. It’s a very active community and if you can’t find things to get involved in then you have a problem. I also met lady friend, Patty, here. Overall, I am very satisfied living here. Fortunately, we all get together for a few days during Christmas at my daughter’s house and we rent a large house for two weeks every summer so everyone has a chance to spend some time there.
When not teaching, what are some of your hobbies?: I play saxophone in two community bands; Desert Winds and View Point Bands. I bowl one night a week with friends. And I’m a sub on a one-day-a-week Bocce team. I still periodically enjoy the opera and ballet at Phoenix Symphony Hall.
What do you most cherish from your childhood?: The Bronx was sparsely settled when I was growing up. There were very few cars on the street; The Depression and World War II. We were very free to come and go as we pleased. Open lots where we could play baseball or football. Open streets where we could play stickball, punchball, kick the can (no rubber during the war). Many streets ended with water; the East River, Long Island Sound, the Harlem River. We could swim, go fishing or crabbing. Who had it better than us.
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