Meet my New Best Friend!

Meet my New Best Friend, AI!

In the new and exciting world of AI, there are thousands of companies trying to sell you their wonderful product that utilizes AI to help analyze data, determine market values, bring new leads, all for a low low price of… not low. But what about us “lowly” activity departments who don’t have budgets but are completely and totally strapped for time all day, every day? Help a sister out!! 

This is why I want to introduce you to my best friend, Chat GPT. He goes by lots of names, Gemini, Copilot, Claude, Perplexity, and even Bing. There are free options and paid options, and while processing speeds increase and data analysis increases, there are definitely limits to what they can do, and each one has its own specialty; for my purposes, they’re all the same. Pick the one you like and stick with it – the more he learns about you, the better results you get. I prefer Chat GPT only because it’s the most well-rounded in my non-tech opinion and it does what I need. But use whichever one you’ve got! 

The trick with knowing how to use AI/Chat GPT is to understand his limitations, know how to ask the right questions, and be able to use the information in the right way. Some basic tips for Chat GPT:

• NEVER violate HIPAA by putting protected health information into AI unless it was built for it! (Chat GPT is NOT HIPAA compliant! If you don’t know, assume it’s not).

• He can only do one problem at a time. Don’t overload him with a six step process

• He is not always right! AI has been known to invent things that never happened and pull data that isn’t accurate. ALWAYS check any facts.

• Use his opinions and ideas, but make it your own

• If you don’t understand what he says, don’t copy/paste and use it

• You know your job (and the people in your community) better than he does! 

• Chat GPT likes words, not images. There are better platforms for images.

  
  

Okay, cool, now what do I ask him? Here are some of my favorites – 

• THEMES/NAMES: 

  • I need a theme for March that connects to National Women’s Month

  • Help me name this party I’m doing, which is a “dog” theme.

  • Help me find a punchy and creative name for an exercise class that uses weights

• TRIVIA: 

  • Give me a list of baseball trivia appropriate for fifth graders

    • (if you ask for general trivia, you’ll get “What year did the Dodgers…” and only certain people would know that. For people with dementia, I target fifth-grade knowledge. Target the “age” for what is most appropriate for your residents.)

  • Give me a list of famous couples from the US in the 50s, 60s, and 70s.

• REMINISCE: 

  • Tell me 10 “would you rather” questions

  • What were the top 10 most popular movies in the 40s and 50s? Give me a description of each including the main actors and director.

• BOOK CLUB: 

  • Write me a story, about a page long, about a woman and her beagle who is lost and then found. 

    • Now write me five questions good for a discussion group about this story

    • (Note: person-centered care! This resident had a beagle and I want to connect to her)

  • Read this article (upload something I downloaded legally or a story written by a person in the community) and write me five discussion questions about it

• OFFICE

  • Help me draft a professional email. I need to thank Tom for his help, but I don’t need him to come back anymore; the residents didn’t like him. But I need it to be very nice. 

  • How do I tell my boss that if she checked the email I sent yesterday, she would already have all this information, without sounding like a jerk?

• CARE PLANS

  • Help me write a professional care plan. This resident likes to hang out in the living room and talk to the other residents, but if there is a Dodger’s game on, he wants to go to his room and watch. He doesn’t like any other sports but he will exercise if I ask him to and promise him a cookie afterwards. 

    • Try it and see what he says! Note: NO NAMES!! HIPAA!!

    • Once Chat gives you the info, it’s YOUR job to make sure it is accurate, sounds appropriate, and put it in the appropriate place in the care plan. Chat isn’t great at dividing into a three-part care plan… yet. 

  • But he CAN do approaches!

    •  I work with a lady who likes to knit, crochet, and design quilts. She has arthritis. What adaptations can we use to help her do these things? 

    • (Again, you have to decide if it’s doable and if it would work)

I’m happy to share my new best friend with you. Go chat with him sometime and see what things you can ask him! Want more? I'll be speaking at the NAAP Conference April 7-9th on this topic. Or join me for a virtual training via Zoom!