Using AI to Plan My Italy Trip: 11 Things I Asked Claude

Dear Kevin Frazier: Come On My Podcast

Recording from a little apartment in Pienza, Italy, host Ginny Deerin reads an open letter — out loud, on air — to Kevin Frazier, the law professor who wrote “Your grandma should be using AI” for Fortune magazine. She agrees with a lot of it. She has a few thoughts about the rest. And she has an invitation. Also in this episode: Apple is planning to let iPhone users choose their own AI this fall — whether that’s Claude, Gemini, or sticking with Apple’s own. Ginny explains why more competition is actually great news for the 65+ crowd. Two recommendations this week: why Ginny is building a life timeline with AI’s help while traveling in Italy with her siblings — and AllTrails, the hiking app that put her in the middle of a Tuscany wheat field she never would have found on her own. SHOW LINKS: Fortune article by Kevin Frazier: https://fortune.com/2026/05/13/ai-elderly-seniors-policy-waymo-elliq-loneliness-gap/ AllTrails: https://www.alltrails.com Apple iOS 27 AI story (TechCrunch): https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/05/apple-plans-to-make-ios-27-a-choose-your-own-adventure-of-ai-models/ CHAPTERS 00:00 Welcome From Tuscany 00:22 iPhone AI Choice Coming 02:05 Why It Matters Seniors 02:57 Fortune Article Setup 03:37 Letter From Pienza 05:18 Where I Push Back 06:04 ElliQ And Real Needs 06:30 Invitation To Kevin 07:27 Recommendations And Links 07:39 Build Your Life Timeline 09:15 Wrap Up And Safety aiGED: AI for the 65+ crowd

Italy Travel Tips: How I Used AI When the WiFi Failed

I'm reporting live from Pienza — a tiny, gorgeous, medieval town in Tuscany where the wine is excellent and the internet is, as my mother would say, S-H-I-TTY. Real-time voice conversations with Claude? Absolutely not happening. But my AI has still been incredibly useful out here — just not in the ways I expected. This week I'm sharing eight things I've used Claude for since landing in Italy, and almost all of them involve pointing my phone camera at something I don't understand. A washing machine with Italian dials. A church sign in Italian. A medicine box from the farmacia. A local art exhibit poster. Plants along a trail. Each time, a quick photo and a simple question got me exactly what I needed — no WiFi required. Also this week: two recommendations worth adding to your travel toolkit. First, a heartfelt case for taking a trip with your siblings — and why a month in Tuscany has turned into a masterclass in family history. And second, the AllTrails app, which led me on a walk through wheat fields so gorgeous they looked like a postcard. Come join me in Tuscany. SHOW LINKS: 🥾 AllTrails: https://www.alltrails.com [https://www.alltrails.com] CHAPTERS 00:00 Welcome From Tuscany 01:02 Internet Reality Check 02:42 AI Travel Wins 03:37 Photo Translation Tricks 05:16 Everyday Problem Solving 06:13 Keep Expectations Grounded 06:38 Trip With Siblings 08:06 AllTrails Hiking App 10:12 Closing Thoughts And Safety aiGED: AI for the 65+ crowd

How to Use AI for Work, Travel, and Daily Life

My friend, Bill, isn’t a tech expert — he’s a consultant, pickleball player, and self-described regular guy who started using AI and never looked back. He calls his ChatGPT assistant “John,” and the two of them have something he only half-jokingly calls a bromance. In this episode, Bill shares how he uses AI for business reports, travel planning, tax calculations, writing an obituary for a friend, planning a dinner party, and even choosing the perfect exterior paint color for his new house. His take: if you ask the right questions, it never really lets you down. Also in this episode — a robot that just beat the human world record in a half-marathon, AI personal trainers taking over from human coaches, and a New York Times love letter that I guarantee will make your day. Come on in — you’re going to love Bill. SHOW LINKS: 📰 “A Robot Named Lightning” — NYT (Adeel Hassan, April 19) 📰 “To Reach Their Fitness Goals, They Hired ‘CoachGPT’” — NYT (Chris Cohen, April 18) 📚 The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly 📰 “My Wife Is 85. She Takes My Breath Away” — NYT (Roger Rosenblatt, April 18) Chapters: 00:00 Welcome to aiGED 00:20 Robot Wins Half Marathon 01:44 Coach GPT Fitness Trend 03:12 Meet Bill the Guest 05:26 Travel Planning with AI 05:54 Choosing Your Chatbot 07:20 AI as Daily Sidekick 08:17 Templates and Writing Help 11:19 Home and Life Planning 12:50 Cooking and Voice Chat 13:28 AI Risks and Caution 15:48 Recommendations and Homework 17:54 Wrap Up and Farewell aiGED: AI for the 65+ crowd

Using AI to Plan My Italy Trip: 11 Things I Asked Claude

I’m heading to Italy (Rome, Pienza and Florence) at the end of April for a month with my three siblings — and Claude has been my behind-the-scenes planning partner. This week I’m sharing 11 real things I asked my AI to help me with: from TSA rules for power banks and Italian electrical adapters, to turning a friend’s detailed Rome notes into two walking tours, cracking coffee bar etiquette, and getting my custom Google Maps working on my iPhone. Also this week: two AI news stories worth a listen, a hilarious Instagram recommendation that will make you laugh and think, and homework — five scammer red flags inspired by a friend’s painful experience — that could protect someone you love. Pull up a chair. This one’s got a little bit of everything.  SHOW LINKS: 📰 Americans losing trust in AI for healthcare: https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2026-04-07/americans-may-be-losing-trust-for-ai-in-health-care-survey 📰 Stanford HAI 2026 AI Index Report: https://hai.stanford.edu/ai-index/2026-ai-index-report 📸 husk.irl on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/husk.irl 🔗 NCOA scam resources: https://www.ncoa.org/article/what-are-ai-scams-a-guide-for-older-adult Chapters: 00:00 Welcome and Updates 01:15 AI Health Trust News 02:14 AI Adoption Explosion 03:15 Italy Trip Prep Begins 04:21 Power and Plug Planning 06:44 Rome Notes to Walking Tours 08:56 Food and Cafe Etiquette 11:59 Strikes and Book Picks 13:50 Seat Picks and Calendar Magic 17:23 Maps on iPhone 18:54 Husk IRL Recommendation 21:21 Scam Red Flags Homework 24:34 Final Wrap Up aiGED: AI for the 65+ crowd

What AI Is Going to Do to Education — From Elementary School to College, What Could Actually Happen

If you have grandkids, great-grandkids, or kids down the street, this episode is for you. Ginny has been doing a lot of reading on what AI might actually do to our schools — not in a vague, hand-wavy way, but in a real, picture-by-picture way. What could a classroom look like in three to five years? What happens to college? And what does any of this mean for the kids we love? That’s what this episode is about. Ginny walks through three different age groups — elementary school, middle and high school, and college — and paints multiple scenarios for each. Along the way she shares the story of a $3 million AI chatbot that collapsed in three months, a private school where kids spend just two hours a day on AI-powered lessons, a University of Pennsylvania study showing students learning six to nine months ahead of their peers, and a Princeton professor whose students said something about AI that Ginny hasn’t been able to stop thinking about.  In the news this week: a New York Times investigation into how accurate Google’s AI Overviews really are (the answer might surprise you — or maybe not), and a brand new Gallup survey of more than 1,500 young Americans that reveals how Gen Z really feels about AI right now. Spoiler: they’re curious, frustrated, and a little bit angry — all at the same time. Ginny also recommends a road trip to the zoo with a three-year-old and makes the case for bringing popcorn back into your life. If you’ve been nodding along whenever someone says “AI is going to change education” but couldn’t quite picture what that actually means — this episode will help you see it. SHOW LINKS: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/technology/google-ai-overviews-accuracy.html https://news.gallup.com/poll/708224/gen-adoption-steady-skepticism-climbs.aspx CHAPTERS: 00:00 Welcome and Preview 01:22 Google AI Overviews Accuracy 04:24 Gen Z Feelings on AI 07:01 Education in 3 to 5 Years 08:35 Elementary School Scenarios 12:10 Middle and High School Futures 17:54 College and the Future of Degrees 23:05 Key Takeaways on Learning 23:55 Recommendations Zoo Trip Planning 26:27 Wrap Up and Safety Reminders aiGED: AI for the 65+ crowd