Looking Back to Move Forward with AI

It’s time to restock the kitchen. Would you grab the keys to the car or hop on a horse to get to the grocery store? We take cars for granted now, but when the automobile first appeared, it was loud, smelly, intimidating — and frightening to many people.

Some governments responded with “red flag laws,” requiring a person to walk ahead of an automobile waving a red flag to warn others that a machine was coming. Imagine owning a car but having to follow someone on foot.

There is a lesson here for artificial intelligence (AI). New technology brings legitimate concerns, but fear of change can prevent using it to improve our lives.

AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Grok are not thinking human beings. At their core, they are mathematical models trained to recognize patterns and generate responses to human requests. They are remarkably capable, but not perfect. AI can make mistakes and sometimes confidently provide inaccurate information. That is why our most important tool remains our critical thinking.

I have worked with machine learning and AI throughout my career, beginning with my Ph.D. research at Harvard. Since then, I have used AI to develop biotechnology and medical devices, including developing continuous glucose monitoring systems for diabetes and a blood test to predict preeclampsia named one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2025.

What excites me now is that AI is moving beyond laboratories and becoming useful in everyday lives, relevant even as we age.

Take a picture of your refrigerator, and AI can suggest recipes using what you have. Ask it to explain unfamiliar language in a medical report and it can translate technical terminology into everyday English to prepare better questions for your doctor. It can draft a letter, plan a trip, compare products, explain how to use a new device, organize information or simply provide a starting point when you don’t know where to begin.

AI may also help older adults remain independent longer. Advances in autonomous vehicles could someday provide mobility to people who can no longer safely drive because of declining night vision or slower reflexes. AI-assisted health monitoring and interactive tools help people manage chronic conditions and exercise cognition from home to improve quality of life and reduce caretaker burden.

None of this means surrendering judgment to a machine. Quite the opposite. AI works best as a partner. Ask questions. Challenge its answers. Verify important information with a professional, particularly with medical or financial advice.

My suggestion is simple: get your hands dirty. Try AI. Ask it something you already know, then something you don’t. Learn what it does well and evaluate where it falls short. Seniors should not be passive observers of this technological transition. They can help shape it with their experiences.

One final disclosure: I used AI to workshop ideas while writing this article. It helped me write in a fraction of the time — which gave me more time to enjoy the pool with friends and family on this sunny summer afternoon.

And perhaps that is one of AI’s best promises: not replacing human life, but giving us more time to live it.

Elaine Gee, Ph.D., is founder and principal consultant of BigHead Analytics Group, a data science and AI consulting firm in Windsor, California.