Taking on Generative AI in My 60s: What I've Learned Since Starting

Hello.
Thank you for visiting this note.

This note is a record of my journey as a 62-year-old contract employee taking on the challenge of "generative AI."

In the blink of an eye, a month has passed since I started.
At first,

• How do you pronounce Copilot? (Co-pi-lot?)

• What am I supposed to say to ChatGPT?
  That was the level I started at.

But as I continued to feel my way through it, the things I could do gradually increased.

For example—

• I became able to summarize documents.

• I became able to compile minutes for web meetings.

• And above all, I became able to edit photos into Ghibli-style or watercolor-style images and get a laugh!

There was technical growth, but
what was even bigger than that wasthe feeling of "not being afraid of what I don't know"that grew within me.

The secret to continuing is "not aiming for perfection."

What I learned is that
you don't have to aim for perfection from the start.that is.

It's okay to make mistakes.
If it doesn't go well, you can just try again.
Even the AI got confused when I said "go back to before," asking "go back to where?" (laughs)

Humans are like that too.

To you who want to take on the challenge

If you, the person reading this article,

• want to use generative AI but feel anxious

• are interested but don't know where to start

• think it might be too difficult for you

If you are feeling that way,
I want to tell you this from the bottom of my heart.

Let's move forward together, one step at a time.

It's okay to fail.
It's okay to get bored along the way.
You can always come back.

When you encounter something new,
your world expands just a little bit.
That truly happens at any age.

I will continue to keep going.
If you'd like, why not take on the challenge with me?

Conclusion

From here on out, too,
"AI, an Old Guy, and 100 Days"
will continue, loosely and happily.

Thank you for reading.
I would be incredibly happy to have your support.