Workshop · W12

AI for Seniors

  • Thursday, October 22, 2026 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
  • Thursday, December 10, 2026 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm

North York Central Library · 5120 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON M2N 5N9

Moderator: Ryan Kelln, Innovator in Residence, Applied AI

Staying in touch, keeping track of appointments, finding programs that interest you.

A gentle, jargon-free class with no pressure and no experience needed. Write a message in your own voice, turn a spoken thought into a checklist, plan questions for an appointment, and find community programs. We are also straight about the risks: anything that sounds like a person deserves caution, and we practice spotting the scams that use AI. Afternoon sessions.

What to remember

Ask it what it is trying to get you to do. Then check another way. An AI helper writes what usually follows, and that is not always what is true. It is good for a first draft, a list, or a question to ask. It is not the place to find out the hours of a program, or to decide what to do about your health.

Type no names, addresses, health details or family details into any AI tool. If you want to practise, make up a person, the way we did with Pat.

The recipe

Think of one thing you keep meaning to do. Fill in these four lines, type them into the chat, read the answer, and then say what is wrong with it.

Write [a message / a list / questions] for [who it is for]. I want [what you want it to do]. Leave out [what you do not want]. Short, plain words.

You can fix the answer the way you would tell a person: “Shorter.” “Less formal.” “Take out the word wonderful.” Each fix is one more short line. You do not need to start again.

If you get a call or message that frightens or rushes you

A scam call has four things: someone with authority, a clock, a secret, and a payment that cannot be undone, such as gift cards, an e-transfer or cash to a courier. A cloned voice can sound like your family, and the four things are still there.

  1. Stop. Take five minutes. Say out loud: “I need to talk to somebody before I do anything.”
  2. Hang up.
  3. Ring back on a number you already have, not the one the call came from.
  4. Talk to someone you trust.

Nobody real refuses five minutes. Agree on a family password too: a word or a question that only your family knows, that is easy for you to remember and hard for anyone else to guess.

If you lost money, tell your bank first. Then report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, 1-888-495-8501, antifraudcentre.ca, and to the police. It is not your fault, and reporting helps others.

Finding programs and help

  • 2-1-1. Free, private, any hour, in more than 150 languages. A real person answers. Call or text 2-1-1, or go to 211ontario.ca. Ask about help at home, food, or programs for older adults.
  • The library’s own events list. tpl.bibliocommons.com/v2/events. Choose a branch, such as North York Central, and the audience Older Adults. For finding a program, this list and 2-1-1 are better than a chatbot, because they know their own hours and dates. Use the chatbot to ask what to look for.

What you can take home

Sessions