Hinsdale teen helps senior citizens get a handle on AI and other technological mysteries

A crowd of 20 or so gathered in the basement of the Hinsdale Public Library on a recent Saturday, many anxious and a little confused but all eager to learn. The morning’s speaker is there to help alleviate the fears, to navigate a path through what, to many, feels like a minefield.

But what, you might wonder, can the slight youth, the tips of his black hair bleached blond, teach to an audience of people, each of whom is old enough to be his grandmother or grandfather?

“AI is not a robot takeover. AI is not conscious and alive,” Isa Ibrahim, 16, tells the gathering not long after he begins his presentation about generative artificial intelligence. In the next hour, the Hinsdale Central High School junior will explain how artificial intelligence can actually help in their daily life — like planning a day out with the grandkids, or how to spot online scams and avoid falling prey to them.

Isa speaks slowly, avoids jargon and ventures out into the audience when brows wrinkle in confusion and hands go up.

This is Isa’s fifth workshop on AI and online safety, all as a volunteer. He said he never thought about asking to be paid. “Absolutely not,” he said during a chat at the end of the lecture. “Their [the audience’s] safety is more important than me getting a little money out of this.”

Isa, who has a near perfect grade point average, said he finds AI and its “endless capabilities” fascinating. When his grandfather said he wanted to learn more about the technology constantly in the news last spring, Isa decided to share his knowledge.

“My dad kind of pawned that task off to me,” Isa joked. “I sat with [my grandfather] one day. I taught him all about AI and he really seemed to enjoy it.” He reasoned, if his grandfather is struggling with it, there must be thousands of other grandparents in his area who must be as well.

‘Definitely filling a need’

Isa approached his local library in the early summer to see if there might be a need. Most of the people who give talks at the library are late into middle age or older, said Susan McBride, the library’s programming coordinator for adult services. So McBride was skeptical, but not for long.

“It was very clear to me that he’d thought it through completely,” McBride said. “He had it well planned.”

Added McBride: “I’ve had a couple of people tell me they’ve approached their children and grandchildren to get this info, and [the younger generations] quickly lose patience. They like the fact that Isa is here just to teach them.”

At first, Isa said, it was nerve-racking being in front of a crowd. But he’s grown to love public speaking and is considering how he might weave it into future career plans.

Isa’s lecture instructions appear on a library projection screen, with the class following along on laptops and smart phones. Isa explains that many of them are using AI already, whether or not they know it, when, for example, they do a Google search for information.

Isa asks the class if they want him to repeat a ChatGPT demo he did in a class the week before. Most say yes.

“No,” grumbles one man, a little too loudly. “Oh, God.”

Isa ignores the remark and continues on, showing the class how to log onto the site and to ask the AI chatbot to plan a day trip.

A few in the class look baffled. One woman says ChatGPT recommended a restaurant that has been closed for several months.

Isa urges the class to be as specific and detailed as possible with their online questions, also called “prompts.”

A little later, he goes over one of the more frightening scams: an online request that appears to be from your bank seeking the immediate deposit of cash to avoid your account being closed.

“Anything that is urgent, saying ‘I need this now,’ it’s most likely trying to pressure you to get your money and make you think fast. … They are trying to rush your decisions to make sure you make bad ones,” Isa said.

When the session wraps up, there is applause. Isa thanks everyone for coming.

The participants gush about their instructor.

“He looks like he’s about 12, but the fact that he’s so mature, he could be 21 very easily,” said Eva Unikel, who attended with her husband, Alan Unikel.

And what did they learn from the session?

“There is much more scamming than you think and you really have to be much more careful,” Alan Unikel said.

After Saturday’s session, Isa has one more planned.

“I would for sure have him back,” McBride said. “The feedback we’ve received has been overwhelmingly positive and that leads me to believe he’s definitely filling a need.”