At 75, I'm Still Learning: Why Seniors Shouldn't Fear the Age of Artificial Intelligence

 

By Bruce Goldwell

I'm 75 years old, and I have a question for other seniors.

When did we decide that getting older meant we should stop learning, creating, or trying new things?

Everywhere I look, people are talking about artificial intelligence. Some are excited about it. Others are concerned that AI will replace jobs, change society, and make many of the skills people spent a lifetime developing less valuable.

I understand those concerns.

But I also see something else.

I see an opportunity for millions of seniors to do things they may never have imagined possible.

And I believe our lifetime of experience could become one of our greatest advantages.

I've Seen a Lot of Changes in My Lifetime

When I was growing up, we didn't have personal computers, smartphones, or the Internet.

I've watched technology transform the way we communicate, work, shop, and learn.

I've also experienced my share of personal changes.

I served in the United States Army, including a tour in Vietnam. I've worked in different fields, faced difficult circumstances, and even experienced homelessness.

In 2007, I published my first book.

Since then, I've written hundreds of books covering subjects that interest me. I've created websites, produced videos, explored new technologies, and continued finding new ways to share ideas.

Now I'm learning how artificial intelligence can help me accomplish even more.

At 75, I don't consider myself finished.

I still have things I want to learn and things I want to create.

Seniors Have Something AI Doesn't

Artificial intelligence can gather information, explain complicated subjects, suggest ideas, and help people learn new skills.

But information is not the same as lived experience.

Think about everything you've learned throughout your life.

Maybe you raised a family, served your country, owned a business, worked in a trade, taught children, cared for others, or overcame challenges that once seemed impossible.

You learned lessons along the way.

You developed judgment.

You discovered what works and what doesn't.

Those experiences still have value.

And now we have technology that can help us put some of that knowledge to work in new ways.

AI has information. Seniors have experience. Imagine what we might accomplish by combining the two.

What Is a Polymath?

A polymath is someone who develops knowledge or abilities across multiple fields.

Leonardo da Vinci is a famous example. He explored art, anatomy, engineering, and invention.

Benjamin Franklin was another. His interests included science, publishing, diplomacy, and public service.

Most of us won't become another Leonardo da Vinci, and we don't need to.

But we can remain curious.

We can learn new subjects.

We can connect knowledge from different areas of our lives.

And we can use modern technology to help us explore ideas that once seemed beyond our reach.

That's the central idea behind my new book, POLYMATH: Unlocking Your Potential in the Age of Super Intelligence.

What I Mean by Super Intelligence

When I use the term Super Intelligence, I'm talking about the potential created when human intelligence works together with artificial intelligence.

I call that partnership SI.

The human brings experience, creativity, curiosity, judgment, and purpose.

AI can help with research, explanations, brainstorming, organization, and learning.

Together, they can make it easier for one person to accomplish things that previously required much more time or assistance.

That doesn't mean AI is always correct.

It isn't.

We still need to question information, verify important facts, and make our own decisions.

But we don't have to fear every new technology simply because it's unfamiliar.

We can learn how to use it.

The human is the polymath. SI is the amplifier.

What Could You Do With AI?

Imagine you're retired and have always wanted to write a book about your life.

AI could help you organize your memories, develop an outline, and work through the writing process.

Perhaps you've always wanted to learn about astronomy, history, gardening, or computers.

AI could become a learning partner that explains unfamiliar ideas and helps you explore those subjects at your own pace.

Maybe you have decades of experience in a particular profession and would like to share what you've learned.

AI could help you organize that knowledge into articles, educational materials, or a website.

Or perhaps you simply want to keep your mind active and discover something new.

That's a worthwhile goal, too.

Not every activity needs to produce income or become a business.

Sometimes the joy of learning is reason enough.

I've Created a Free POLYMATH Learning Center

To accompany my new book, I've created a free online Learning Center.

You don't have to buy the book to use it.

The website includes three interactive resources:

25 Practical SI Prompts

Ideas for conversations you can have with AI to explore your interests, develop skills, and discover new possibilities.

The 30-Day Polymath Challenge

A simple way to spend a little time each day exploring new subjects and expanding your knowledge.

Discover Your Polymath Path

An interactive questionnaire designed to help you identify interests, strengths, and possible directions for learning.

You can explore everything here:

https://www.mykindlebooks.net/polymath/

I've also shared a press announcement about the book:

https://www.prlog.org/13175548-seniors-and-super-intelligence-new-book-explores-staying-relevant-in-the-age-of-ai.html

Your Next Chapter May Surprise You

There was a time when people thought retirement meant stepping away from the productive part of life.

But I don't believe curiosity has a retirement age.

I don't believe creativity expires at 65.

And I certainly don't believe we should stop exploring new possibilities simply because we've lived a few more decades than someone else.

At 75, I know there are still things I haven't learned.

There are still ideas I haven't explored.

And there are still projects I haven't created.

Perhaps the same is true for you.

Artificial intelligence is changing the world. We can't control every change, but we can decide whether we want to explore the opportunities it creates.

Your age doesn't determine the limits of your curiosity.

Your experience still matters.

Your ideas still matter.

And your next great discovery may still be ahead of you.

What are you willing to learn next?

---

Bruce Goldwell is a Vietnam veteran and author of hundreds of books. His new book, POLYMATH: Unlocking Your Potential in the Age of Super Intelligence, explores lifelong learning, human potential, and the partnership between human intelligence and AI.

Free Learning Center: https://www.mykindlebooks.net/polymath/

I Found Something I Wrote About Myself in 2014

 

Today I stumbled across an old blog post I wrote in 2014.

I started reading it expecting to smile at how much things had changed.

Instead, something else happened.

I realized how much has not changed.

Back then, I introduced myself simply:

“Hi. I am Bruce Goldwell.”

I wrote about my dreams, my struggles, becoming an author, and why I wanted to write books in the first place.

And there was one sentence that caught my attention:

“I write books to help others move closer to achieving their own dreams.”

That was me in 2014.

And somehow, all these years later, it is still me.

Before the Books

There was a period of about ten years in my life when simply getting through the day could be an accomplishment.

I had experienced health problems and personal setbacks, and eventually I found myself homeless.

During those years, bookstores became something of a classroom for me.

I would spend time reading books in the self-help section, trying to understand why some people seemed able to overcome incredible obstacles while others remained trapped by circumstances.

More importantly, I wanted to know:

Could I change my own circumstances?

In 1998, I met a 97-year-old gentleman who told me that I should write a book.

At the time, that probably sounded like an unlikely future.

But I never completely forgot what he said.

Eventually, I started writing.

My first published book was The Door to Super Achievement.

Then came The Power of Choice.

Then the Dragon Keepers series, where I tried to weave success principles into stories young readers could enjoy.

More books followed.

And then more.

What I Didn't Know in 2014

Reading that old post today is fascinating because the person writing it couldn't see what was ahead.

He couldn't see the books that hadn't been written yet.

He couldn't see the websites that hadn't been built.

He couldn't see artificial intelligence becoming a tool that would allow an independent author to research, create, experiment, build, and communicate in ways that would have sounded like science fiction in 2014.

He couldn't see all the ideas that were still waiting to arrive.

He couldn't see the failures, either.

There would be ideas that didn't work.

Books that didn't sell.

Projects that went nowhere.

Experiments that seemed brilliant one day and considerably less brilliant the next. 😂

But that's part of the journey.

You keep creating.

You keep learning.

You keep trying.

And every once in a while, you look backward and realize just how far you've traveled.

The Most Important Thing Didn't Change

Near the end of that 2014 post, I wrote:

“Sometimes life teaches us amazing lessons and winning is not always what it seems. Winning is in the eye of the beholder.”

Then I wrote something even more important:

“I feel that helping others is one of my missions in life.”

And finally:

“My goal is to help make the world a better place.”

Twelve years later, I wouldn't change that.

My definition of success has evolved.

Technology has certainly changed.

The subjects I write about have expanded enormously.

But I still believe a book can reach someone at exactly the moment they need it.

Maybe someone is struggling with a relationship.

Maybe someone hates their job and doesn't know whether to stay or leave.

Maybe a senior or veteran is trying to stretch a limited budget.

Maybe someone is thinking about life, death, faith, purpose, or what might come next.

Maybe someone simply needs an idea that helps them see their situation differently.

I may never know their name.

They may never know much about me.

But somehow a few words I wrote can travel across the world and reach that person.

I've always thought there was something remarkable about that.

A Message to the Bruce of 2014

If I could send a message backward to the man who wrote that blog post, I think I'd keep it simple:

Keep going.

Some things aren't going to work.

Keep going.

Some people aren't going to understand what you're trying to do.

Keep going.

You're going to have more ideas than you could possibly finish.

Try anyway.

Technology is going to change beyond anything you can imagine.

Learn how to use it.

And never forget why you started writing in the first place.

You wanted your experiences—even the difficult ones—to become something that might help somebody else.

That's still a pretty good reason to write.

And to Whoever Is Reading This...

Maybe you've had years that didn't turn out the way you expected.

Maybe something you dreamed about has taken much longer than you thought it would.

Maybe you're starting over at an age when people tell you that you should be slowing down.

Don't assume that today's circumstances are the final chapter.

I once spent my days trying to figure out how to survive while reading other people's books in bookstores.

Eventually, I started writing my own.

And I'm still writing them.

So perhaps the best thing I can do with this old post from 2014 is leave its final message essentially where it began:

Sometimes life teaches us amazing lessons.

Success isn't always measured by money, recognition, numbers, or applause.

Sometimes success is discovering that something you created helped another human being.

And after all these years, my goal remains remarkably simple:

Help people when I can.

Keep creating.

And try to leave this world a little better than I found it.

— Bruce Goldwell