Ok, Boomer
The Old Farm Field Guide
to Practical AI
“You can teach an old dog new tricks!”
Start with an ordinary task. Learn to ask for help, check the answer, and use your own judgment. You don’t need a technical background.
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Meet your field companions
A little help.
Your judgment.
Boomer is the experienced sheepdog. He brings context, patience, and a sense of what matters. He represents the judgment you already have.
Scout is the eager young pup. He represents the AI assistant: quick with a draft or suggestion, and sometimes very sure of a wrong answer.
You decide what to keep, what to check, and when to ask a person for help.
The “AND” loop
Ask. Notice. Decide.
A simple routine to use whenever AI gives you an answer.
Ask
Give the assistant a task and the facts to work from. Say what you need and what it should leave out.
Notice
Read the answer against your original information. Look for useful ideas, missing details, and claims that need checking.
Decide
Choose what to use after checking. You can revise, reject, start again, or take the question to a qualified person.
Inside the field guide
What you can try with AI
The book includes 14 step-by-step guides, called playbooks. Each explains what to ask AI, what might go wrong, and how to check the result. Here are a few tasks they cover.
Understand a difficult letter
Ask AI to explain a paragraph in plain language. Compare the explanation with the letter and note questions for the sender.
Plan a local outing or trip
Ask for a plan that fits your time and budget. Confirm hours and costs with the places you plan to visit.
Preserve family history
Ask for interview questions to help a relative tell their story. Keep their own words and mark details they’re unsure about.
Support volunteer work
Ask AI to turn your event notes into a short reminder. Check that it hasn’t invented a time, fee, or location.
Organize a home project
Ask AI to organize your project notes into steps and a supplies list. Check the list against your plans before buying anything.
Learn a phone or tablet task
Tell AI what you want to do on your device. Ask for one step at a time and compare it with what’s on your screen.
Keep a copy
The whole book.
Free, in every format.
For older adults, anyone who doesn’t consider themselves technical, and the people learning alongside them.
Share this page with family, a librarian, a community educator, a church group, or a senior center.
PDF For reading or printing
Keeps the book’s page layout. A good choice to read now or print selected practice pages.
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Download EPUB EPUB · 19.9 MBWord For adding your own notes
Open in Microsoft Word or a compatible app to add notes and adjust the document for your own reading.
Download Word DOCX · 16.4 MBBefore you practice
Keep private details private.
Use fictional or non-sensitive details. Leave passwords, account numbers, and private records out of AI conversations. Check important claims before acting on them.
A note from the author
Tell me where you got stuck.
If you’d like to share feedback, name the section and what needed a clearer explanation. You don’t need to finish the book first.
josh@gigcityai.ai