UTEP AAII Program Helps Older Adults Understand and Safely Use Artificial Intelligence
AI Connect, a free community program, covers how AI works, how to use it in daily life, how to spot AI scams, among other topics.
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Email: aaii@utep.edu
EL PASO, Texas (Oct. 29, 2026). The Institute for Applied AI Innovation (AAII) at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) has reached more than 410 older adults since April 2026 with the AI Connect program.
AI Connect is a free artificial intelligence (AI) literacy program for older adults, aged 50 and over, thanks to the sponsorship of Microsoft TechSpark and El Paso Innovation Hub. This program is offered at City of El Paso senior centers and at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at UTEP in both, English and Spanish.
AI Connect’s presentations cover what AI is and how it works, where it appears in daily life, the mistakes it can make, how scammers use deepfakes, and what happens to personal information typed into AI tools, along with simple habits to protect it. The workshops go further. Participants learn about the types of AI and how AI is used in online banking, government, education, and health services.
The senior center presentations also give participants time to try AI firsthand with hands-on activities and practice telling real images and videos from AI-generated ones.
“Many older adults already use AI every day without knowing it. The services they rely on, from banking to doctor’s appointments, increasingly use AI. They should have opportunities to understand these tools well enough to use them on their own terms,” said Natalia Villanueva Rosales, Ph.D., AAII community-driven innovation lead.
Dr. Villanueva Rosales and Priscila Madrid Arroyos lead the sessions with support from Luis Garnica Chavira, AAII research associate; Pilar Gonzalez, Ph.D., AAII research associate; and Yair Cabrera Menendez, Ph.D. student. The program is part of AAII’s community outreach and is offered in partnership with the City of El Paso Parks and Recreation Department and OLLI at UTEP. AI Connect also enables research to better understand how older adults perceive AI and how those perceptions relate to their current use and intention to use AI.
The program also includes a four-session workshop which was offered at OLLI during the summer and will be offered at the Wellington Chew Senior Center on November 2026. The schedule for senior center presentations and workshops is posted on the AI Connect page, along with instructions for registration.
Full schedule and flyers: https://www.utep.edu/aaii/news/ai-connect.html
