OpenAI Academy is teaming up with OATS from AARP to run an Older Adults AI Skills Jam, a free in-person event that teaches older people how to use ChatGPT. The workshop also shows attendees how to recognize scams, with ChatGPT pitched as an extra layer of scrutiny before they act on a message. The Jam is scheduled in 10 communities alongside local organizations that serve older adults.
The sessions train participants to look for specific red flags in suspicious messages, including pressure to act quickly, requests for secrecy, and links that do not look right. The event is part of a multi-year partnership between OpenAI and OATS that operates through Senior Planet, the flagship program run by OATS. OpenAI Academy frames the effort as one piece of its wider work on AI literacy.
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OpenAI says the education push works alongside its separate efforts to prevent, detect, and disrupt fraud. The company points to demand for that kind of help: tens of millions of times each week, people ask ChatGPT to help them evaluate suspicious messages, emails, and websites. OpenAI also reports that in the United States, the share of messages tied to people 55 and older climbed from 6 percent to nearly 10 percent in a year.
ChatGPT use among that group is not limited to security questions. Cited examples include planning trips, handling bills, checking whether an offer is a scam, pursuing hobbies, and staying in touch with family.
The announcement does not break out individual dates for the 10 community events, and it does not explain how people can sign up or how many seats each session holds.
The event is the latest in a series of OpenAI Academy sessions aimed at specific audiences rather than general users. Previous gatherings have focused on nonprofits, small businesses, and K-12 educators.
