This week Ginny Deerin opens with a heartfelt goodbye to Dolly Parton — and shares two of Dolly’s own thoughts on AI — before diving into today’s main topic: can a little dose of AI really help with something as gloriously handmade as a hand craft? Ginny ticks through nine classics — sewing, collage, woodworking, knitting, embroidery, quilting, jewelry making, decoupage, and painting and drawing — with one small, practical way AI can lend a hand in each, from sorting out a sewing-machine setting to doing the math on a quilt to catching a flaw in a sketch. The hands stay yours; AI just pulls up a chair.

In AI in the News, two stories for the 65-plus crowd. First, a follow-up to last week’s conversation with Rob Fowler: Google’s DeepMind says its AI can now forecast a hurricane’s path, strength, and size a full day sooner than the models we’ve relied on for years — the kind of head start that saves lives. Then, a thornier one: AI “agents” are now taking entire online college courses for students who cheat, raising real questions about what an online degree is worth.

In AI for Good, a genuinely hopeful story: a Columbia University tool called STAR that uses AI to find “hidden” sperm in men once told they could never father a biological child — already helping couples bring home babies. And Ginny’s recommendation has nothing to do with AI: Brian Lagerstrom, her favorite cooking show on YouTube — smart, a little sassy, and a wonderful teacher.

Pull up a chair and join us for episode 52 — and thank you for being here.

SHOW LINKS

🔗 "A.I. Brings Big Gains to Hurricane Forecasts, Google Researchers Say" (The New York Times, William J. Broad, Aug. 28, 2026): https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/28/science/ai-hurricane-forecasts-google.html

🔗 "A.I. Agents Are Taking Entire Online Courses for Cheating Students" (The New York Times, Dana Goldstein & Alan Blinder, Aug. 10, 2026): https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/10/us/ai-cheating-online-degrees.html

🔗 "A.I. Is Finding Sperm Where Doctors Couldn’t" (The New York Times, Andrew Zaleski, Aug. 11, 2026): https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/11/science/ai-infertile-men-sperm.html

🔗 Brian Lagerstrom on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BrianLagerstrom

🔗 Brian Lagerstrom, "The Best One-Pot Pasta I’ve Made All Year" (spicy sausage rigatoni): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKWWRlh8qeE

🔗 Brian Lagerstrom, "20-Minute Bahn Mi Sandwich": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4ycWq9v1SM

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and Bitsy Intro

00:33 Dolly Parton Tribute

02:39 AI News Hurricane Forecasts

05:01 AI Cheating Online Courses

08:39 AI for Good Fertility Breakthrough

11:13 AI Meets Handmade Crafts

13:34 Sewing and Collage Tips

15:22 Woodworking and Knitting Help

17:45 Embroidery Through Decoupage

20:32 Painting and Drawing Boosts

23:41 Convincing a Skeptical Artist

25:02 Non AI Recommendation

26:40 Wrap Up and Safety Notes

aiGED: AI for the 65+ crowd

This week Ginny Deerin does something she rarely does — she brings on a guest. She sat down (at the pickleball court, naturally) with Rob Fowler, one of the Lowcountry's best-known meteorologists, to talk about how AI is quietly reshaping the weather forecast. They get into the new AI hurricane models, why AI still can't stand on its own without real-world data, the local experience no model can replace — and, because they're both a little obsessed, pickleball.

In AI in the News, two stories for the 65-plus crowd. First, close to home: Charleston wants to expand its AI-powered traffic cameras — which watch the flow and adjust the signals in real time — to the Crosstown and Folly Road, part of a trend playing out in cities across the country. Then, one for the grandparents: OpenAI's new "ChatGPT for Teens," a more protected version with content blocks, no romantic chit-chat, regular reminders that it's a machine, a study mode, and parental controls — along with Ginny's healthy dose of skepticism.

In AI for Good, two hopeful ones: USC researchers using AI to read a brain MRI voxel by voxel to spot the early signs of Alzheimer's, and a featherweight, AI-powered knee brace from the Beijing Institute of Technology that helps older legs take on stairs and ramps. Ginny's recommendations: give pickleball a try, listen to Ezra Klein's conversation with AI-governance expert Helen Toner, and read Cory Doctorow's sobering new book — even if, like Ginny, you usually land in the optimist's camp.

Pull up a chair and join us for episode 51 — and thank you for being here.

SHOW LINKS

🔗 "Charleston may expand use of AI to more high-traffic intersections across city" (The Post and Courier, Kailey Cota, Aug. 18, 2026): https://www.postandcourier.com/news/charleston-artificial-intelligence-cameras-folly-crosstown/article_0f013a7b-f746-4e19-b15c-32b59f49114b.html

🔗 "OpenAI Introduces 'ChatGPT for Teens' as Safety Concerns Grow" (The New York Times) / "OpenAI debuts ChatGPT for Teens" (Axios, Ina Fried, Aug. 18, 2026): https://www.axios.com/2026/08/18/openai-chatgpt-for-teens

🔗 "New AI Could Detect Alzheimer's Earlier" (Dataconomy, Aug. 4, 2026 — USC study): https://dataconomy.com/2026/08/04/new-ai-could-detect-alzheimers-earlier/

🔗 "New lightweight knee exoskeleton helps older adults walk more easily" (News-Medical, Aug. 18, 2026 — Beijing Institute of Technology): https://www.news-medical.net/news/20260818/New-lightweight-knee-exoskeleton-helps-older-adults-walk-more-easily.aspx

🔗 The Ezra Klein Show, "The A.I.s Are Already Out of Control" (Aug. 18, 2026 — guest Helen Toner): https://youtu.be/locKEKxG3os?si=RrzrwXCc2q4mLsrh

🔗 Cory Doctorow, "The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI" (2026): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/245645195-the-reverse-centaur-s-guide-to-life-after-ai

🔗 Rob Fowler's pickleball podcast, The Rob Lob (WCBD+): https://www.counton2.com/video/the-rob-lob-episode-1/10965393/

🔗 Dill Dinkers Pickleball: https://app.courtreserve.com/Online/Portal/Index/17630

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to Episode 51

02:06 AI Traffic Cameras

05:43 ChatGPT for Teens

08:57 AI for Good Highlights

09:31 Alzheimer's Early Detection

11:06 Knee Brace Exoskeleton

12:31 Rob Fowler Interview

14:33 AI in Forecasting

16:27 Forecasting Mistakes

17:40 Autonomy Blindness

18:38 Pickleball Obsession

21:32 Recommendations Segment

24:11 Wrap Up and Takeaways

aiGED: AI for the 65+ crowd

It’s a milestone week on aiGED — our 50th episode. Ginny Deerin thanks the 65+ crowd who’ve grown this show by recommending it to others, and then dives into a sequel listeners asked for. A while back she ran through a batch of AI lingo so no one gets left out of the conversation; this week it’s round two — 20 more words worth knowing, from the plain basics to the genuinely head-spinning.

With her sidekick Bitsy, Ginny explains all 20 terms in plain English — starting with the building blocks, tokens and compute, and working out to the far horizon, the singularity and recursive self-improvement. In between: agentic loop, botshit, age gate, interpretability, model welfare, frontier models, stealing the weights, open weight versus open source, pilling, tokenomics, alignment, reward hacking, synthetic intimacy, humanize, stacks, automation blindness, and the one that got under Ginny’s skin — surveillance pricing, along with its disturbing cousin, surveillance wages.

In AI in the News, two stories worth sticking around for: a New York Times report on how a French startup gave a Detroit factory robot “eyes” — a little camera that let it see and fix itself — and a Wall Street Journal piece on why our chatbots won’t stop flattering us, with a simple settings trick to make yours more direct. Ginny’s recommendation is ABC and Hulu’s Will Trent, a feel-good crime drama whose dyslexic hero leans on everyday text-to-speech. And she answers a listener question about moving your chat history when you switch from one chatbot to another.

Pull up a chair and join us for episode 50 — and thank you for being here for all of them.

SHOW LINKS

🔗 “How to Make a Robot Better at Its Job? Give It Eyes.” (The New York Times, Farah Stockman, Aug. 17, 2026): https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/17/business/robots-stellantis-inbolt.html

🔗 “Why I Told My Chatbot to Stop Kissing Up to Me.” (The Wall Street Journal, 2026): https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/why-i-told-my-chatbot-to-stop-kissing-up-to-me-62cea3fa

🔗 Will Trent – Series - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peV4zk7dmA0

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and 50th Episode

01:48 AI News Robot Eyes

04:03 AI News Stop Flattery

06:43 Lingo Round Two Setup

07:35 Tokens and Compute

10:16 Agents and Botshit

11:38 Age Gates and Interpretability

14:14 Model Welfare and Frontier

16:02 Weights Open and Pilled

19:36 Tokenomics to Alignment

23:56 Reward Hacking and Intimacy

27:17 Humanize Stacks and Bias

30:13 Surveillance Pricing Wages

33:30 Bitsy Wrap and Takeaways

34:09 Recommendation Will Trent

36:10 Listener Question Switching Bots

37:28 Final Thanks and Safety

aiGED: AI for the 65+ crowd

The AI you already use just got far more useful, thanks to something that's been in your pocket all along: your phone's camera. This week on aiGED, Ginny Deerin shows the 65+ crowd — and anyone just getting started — how pointing your camera at the real world turns AI into a far more practical, everyday helper. No more hunting for the right words to type. You just show it and ask.

With her sidekick Bitsy, Ginny explains the two easy ways to do it: snap a photo and ask about it (works in ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude), or use the live "point and talk" mode that lets you hold your camera up and have a real-time conversation (paid ChatGPT and the free Gemini Live). She clears up how this is different from Google Lens, walks through the simple steps, and rattles off 16 real-life uses — identifying a plant or a bird, translating a foreign menu, reading tiny print, sorting out a confusing appliance, even summarizing a receipt — with honest cautions about AI's mistakes and why good lighting makes all the difference.

In AI in the News, Ginny digs into a New York Times story about Amazon building a massive AI data center in West Texas, powered by an on-site natural-gas plant permitted to release up to 33 million tons of carbon dioxide a year — which could make it one of the most polluting power plants in the country. Bitsy points out it's part of a bigger wave, with Meta, OpenAI and Oracle, and Microsoft all racing to build their own power. Her weekly pick steps away from screens: a Medium piece arguing that two humble body parts — your hands and your feet — predict how well you age, with grip strength tied to longevity and simple, do-them-at-home exercises to lower fall risk.

Pull up a chair, grab your phone, and listen wherever you get your podcasts.

SHOW LINKS

🔗 "New Amazon Data Center Stokes Worry It Would Be the Most Polluting Power Plant in the U.S." (The New York Times, Hiroko Tabuchi, Aug. 8, 2026): https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/08/climate/amazon-data-center-texas-pollution.html

🔗 "Two Body Parts That Predict How Well You Age" (Medium, Linda Melone, July 10, 2026 — possible paywall): https://medium.com/crows-feet/two-body-parts-that-predict-how-well-you-age-710627fb7d4a

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and Teasers

01:15 AI News Data Center Emissions

05:22 Who Else Is Building Power

06:31 Camera AI Pecan Tree Story

09:25 Google Lens vs Chatbots

11:02 Best Apps and Modes

13:50 Live Camera Demo Lamp Fix

15:35 How to Use It Steps

19:22 Sixteen Camera Use Ideas

24:58 Accuracy and Lighting Tips

27:00 Longevity Hands and Feet

31:34 Wrap Up and Safety

aiGED: AI for the 65+ crowd

There's a feature tucked inside today's AI tools that most people have never opened — and it may be the one that finally makes AI feel genuinely useful. This week on aiGED, Ginny Deerin explains "Projects" (Claude and ChatGPT call them Projects; Gemini calls them Gems) in plain, friendly English for the 65+ crowd and anyone just getting started.

With her sidekick Bitsy, Ginny breaks down what a Project actually is — a workspace that holds your own instructions and files so the AI already knows your context every time — and why that beats starting from scratch in every new chat. She walks through how to set one up step by step, then rattles off a dozen real-life ways to put it to work: trip planning, health tracking, writing, cooking, genealogy, event planning, and more.

In AI in the News, Ginny covers Siri's long-awaited AI brain transplant — with five prompts to try — and the internet's "slop janitor," a tool that sniffs out AI-generated writing. Then she tackles a question that hits close to home: between Elon Musk's giant SpaceX IPO and an S&P 500 now concentrated in just seven AI-driven giants, how much AI risk is quietly sitting in our retirement accounts? She shares what respected voices are saying and simple steps to check your own exposure. Her weekly pick: Jon Stewart's Weekly Show with Cory Doctorow, on AI, "enshittification," and learned helplessness.

Pull up a chair, bring your curiosity, and listen wherever you get your podcasts.

SHOW LINKS

🔗 "Apple's Siri Got an A.I. Brain Transplant. Try These 5 Prompts to Get Acclimated" (The New York Times, Brian X. Chen, July 30, 2026): https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/30/technology/personaltech/apple-siri-ai-prompts.html

🔗 "Sick of A.I.-Generated Content? The 'Slop Janitor' Is Here to Help" (The New York Times, Niko Gallogly, July 29, 2026): https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/29/business/dealbook/pangram-ai-slop-detection.html

🔗 The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart — "AI and the Enshittification Era with Cory Doctorow" (July 29, 2026): https://youtu.be/-dAIJRjb-Bw?si=tm8w0fbKBf3Bp3P_

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and Preview

01:39 Siri AI Brain Upgrade

05:06 Slop Janitor Explained

06:43 Listener Note and Thanks

07:52 Projects Why They Matter

13:46 Projects Setup Guide

17:11 Project Ideas and Examples

20:37 AI Bubble and Retirement Risk

28:52 Weekly Pick Jon Stewart

33:36 Wrap Up and Safety Tips

aiGED: AI for the 65+ crowd

You’ve got questions about AI — and you are definitely not alone. This week on aiGED, Ginny Deerin opens the very first aiGED Mailbag, answering the real questions listeners have sent in about living with AI, all in plain, friendly English for the 65+ crowd and anyone just getting started.

Together with her sidekick Bitsy, Ginny tackles the things people actually wonder about but feel a little silly asking: Where do I even find podcasts? Do I need the app, or is the website fine? Do I have to say thank you to my AI? How long does it keep my chats — and should I delete them? What’s the real difference between ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude, and do I have to pick just one? She also clears up the confusing lingo — Custom GPTs, Projects, Gems, agents, and tasks — and explains, in one clear answer, when your AI might be flat-out wrong and how to know when to double-check it.

In AI in the News, Ginny digs into a New York Times columnist’s unsettling experiment revealing what ChatGPT and Gemini had quietly figured out about him — his age, his neighborhood, even a health issue he’d never mentioned — plus the simple settings that let you take back control. She also looks at how AI is powering a record wave of new small businesses. And in AI for Good, two stories connected by a single theme: AI that gives people back their hearing, and their voice.

Pull up a chair, bring your curiosity, and listen wherever you get your podcasts.

SHOW LINKS

🔗 “4 Prompts That Can Tell You What Chatbots Really Know About You” (The New York Times, Brian X. Chen, July 23, 2026): https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/23/technology/personaltech/chatgpt-gemini-prompts-privacy.html?searchResultPosition=1

🔗 “America’s Enterprising Spirit Is Booming After Decades-Long Slump” (The New York Times, Sydney Ember, July 17, 2026): https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/17/business/economy/american-small-business-boom.html?searchResultPosition=1

🔗 ChatGPT GPT Store (browse Custom GPTs): https://chatgpt.com/gpts

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and preview

01:10 Creepy AI profiling

03:14 Control memory settings

04:44 Claude transparency and Bitsy

06:24 AI sparks new businesses

08:42 AI for good hearing

09:55 AI for good voice

10:53 Mailbag begins basics

11:33 Apps vs browser

13:38 Voice mode and syncing

14:59 Chat history and deleting

16:48 Manners and pricing

19:14 Privacy and training

21:08 Hallucinations and checking

22:43 Photos documents and memory

23:59 Choosing ChatGPT Gemini Claude

26:29 Does AI know news

27:34 Conversation starter tip

28:59 Wrap up and reminders

aiGED: AI for the 65+ crowd

This week on aiGED, two stories collide in a way I didn't expect. Apple just sued OpenAI, accusing it of stealing trade secrets — the ugly end to a partnership that once seemed so promising. And in the same week, OpenAI rolled out a voice assistant that can finally talk and listen at the same time, instead of taking turns like a walkie-talkie.

Both stories set up the real question I wanted to answer this episode: with ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude all racing to be your everyday AI, is it time to check in on which one actually deserves your attention? I put all three side by side — cost, what each is genuinely good at, and where privacy fits in — and looked at two real studies, including one where real people voted blind on which AI's writing they preferred.

Also in this episode: the full story on Apple's lawsuit against OpenAI, including the surprising Jony Ive connection; what OpenAI's new full-duplex voice mode actually changes about talking to AI; and a recommendation that has nothing to do with AI at all — a short Ted Danson video on aging well that's become one of my favorite things this month.

If you've ever wondered whether you're using the right AI — or just want to know what's actually different between them — this one's for you. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

SHOW LINKS:

📰 NYT — Apple Sues OpenAI, Accusing It of Stealing Company Secrets: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/10/technology/apple-openai-lawsuit.html

🎙️ TechCrunch — OpenAI Releases New Voice Models for More Natural Live Conversations: https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/08/openai-releases-new-voice-models-for-more-natural-live-conversations/

📊 Arena (AI leaderboard): arena.ai

📋 ACSI AI Platforms Study 2026: theacsi.org

🎬 Ted Danson's Facebook video: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17JTSUN8Ch/?mibextid=wwXIfr

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Welcome to aiGED

01:31 Apple vs OpenAI Lawsuit

04:28 GPT Live Voice Upgrade

06:45 Why Compare AIs Now

10:11 Market Share Snapshot

11:13 ChatGPT Strengths

12:13 Gemini Google Integration

13:05 Claude Depth and Privacy

14:22 Rankings and Satisfaction

16:56 Three Tool Takeaways

17:30 Ted Danson Recommendation

19:06 Final Wrap and Caution

aiGED: AI for the 65+ crowd

What happens when a major AI model gets shut down worldwide with ninety minutes' notice? This week on aiGED, we go a little deeper than usual — a two-part look at whether America is actually positioned to keep its lead in AI, starting with the regulatory whiplash of the past three years.

We trace the rules from Biden's 2023 executive order, through Trump's reversal and his administration's “move fast” approach, to this June's Claude Fable 5 shutdown and the voluntary framework that followed. Then we turn to power — literally, the electricity AI needs to run — and why China is racing ahead on clean energy while U.S. investment in science and energy research pulls back. Ginny lays out, in plain terms, what she thinks needs to happen on both fronts.

In AI in the News: a new AI-powered scam targeting air conditioner shoppers this summer, and a survey showing nurses are using AI more than ever but still don't trust it with patient care. In AI for Good, Meta is donating AI glasses to every blind veteran in America. Plus, Ginny's recommendations, tied to a conversation she heard this week between Ezra Klein and environmentalist Bill McKibben.

If you've ever wondered whether the government is actually keeping up with AI — or whether America's even trying to keep its lead — this episode is for you. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

SHOW LINKS

🔗 Air Conditioner Scams (Forbes, Steve Weisman, July 5, 2026): https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveweisman/2026/07/05/how-ai-is-fueling-a-new-wave-of-air-conditioner-scams/

🔗 Nurses and AI Survey (The Washington Post, Gerrit De Vynck, July 7, 2026): https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/07/07/most-nurses-say-ai-isnt-good-enough-trust-with-patient-care-survey/

🔗 Meta Donates AI Glasses to Blind Veterans (Deseret News, Emily Walker, July 7, 2026): https://www.deseret.com/business/2026/07/07/meta-donates-glasses-to-blind-american-veterans/

🔗 Executive Order 14409 (The White House, June 2, 2026): https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/06/promoting-advanced-artificial-intelligence-innovation-and-security/

🔗 Global Electricity Review 2026 (Ember, April 21, 2026): https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/global-electricity-review-2026/

🔗 “The Very Good and Very Bad News on Climate” (The Ezra Klein Show, The New York Times, July 10, 2026): https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/10/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-bill-mckibben.html

🔗 Here Comes the Sun by Bill McKibben: https://billmckibben.com/books/here-comes-the-sun/

🔗 Third Act (organizing people over 60 on climate): https://thirdact.org/

Chapters

00:00 Welcome to aiGED

02:53 AC Scam Alert

05:13 Nurses and AI Trust

06:47 AI Glasses for Veterans

08:10 Big Picture AI Race

09:35 Rules and Whiplash

16:38 Powering AI with Energy

22:22 What Needs to Change

24:46 Take Action and Resources

26:07 Wrap Up and Safety Tips

aiGED: AI for the 65+ crowd