Day 2: What AI can and can't do

Today's idea

Yesterday we learned that AI is like a very well-read "friend". Today we'll find out exactly what this friend can help with — and where it can't.

Imagine someone in your neighbourhood who has read a huge number of books. Ask them, and they can write you a nice application letter, explain a difficult word, or make a tricky school subject easy. But they have never visited your home — so they don't know which way the road outside your house bends, or what tomatoes cost at the market this morning. AI is just like that.

What AI does well: explaining something in simple words, writing a letter or an application, shortening a long text into a summary, translating between languages, giving ideas or suggestions.

What AI can't do, or doesn't do well: knowing your personal and local details (like today's prices at your local market), knowing the very latest news for sure, and — most important of all — AI is not a replacement for a doctor or a lawyer. It can help you understand a doctor's paperwork, but medical decisions must always come from a real doctor.

So think of AI as a helpful friend who knows a lot — but not as the last word on everything.

Try it yourself Time: 3 minutes

Pick something you've been curious about for a long time but never got around to asking anyone. Then:

1. 1.Open the Gemini or ChatGPT app.
2. 2.Type your own curious question, like the example below. You can use this one to start:

   Explain to me in very simple words why the sky looks blue, as if I'm explaining it to an ordinary person.

   Copy
3. 3.Read the answer. Ask yourself — have I ever heard anyone explain this so simply before?