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Start here1AI Is Not New, and Not One Thing2How AI Works, and Why We Check3Your Information, Your Choice4Fakes and ScamsPractice and quizWords and resources

Start hereWelcome

Listen to the story1:13

An Elder in your family wants photographs of her grandparents from the 1930s. Years ago, someone would have driven to a library far away and opened boxes by hand for weeks. Today a computer search looks through millions of records in minutes, and AI (artificial intelligence) can even sort the photos by what it sees. That same week, her phone rings. It sounds exactly like her grandson, crying and asking for money. AI can help us, and AI can be used to trick us. This class shows what AI really is, how it works, why we always check, and how to keep your family safe.

What you will learn

  • Explain that AI (artificial intelligence) is a family of tools, not one thing, and name AI you already use every day
  • Describe how a chatbot writes an answer, and why an answer that sounds sure can still be wrong
  • Decide what is safe to type into a free AI app by using the community board test
  • Spot AI voice and video scams, and protect your family with a code word, a call back, and a report

In this class

1AI Is Not New, and Not One ThingAI (artificial intelligence) is one word for a whole family of computer tools. Some kinds are more than 70 years old, and you already use them every day.4 pictures2How AI Works, and Why We CheckComputers are fast at searching. AI goes one step further: it learns patterns from many examples and makes a likely guess. Fast is not the same as right.5 pictures3Your Information, Your ChoiceInformation about you, your family, and our community is like our water. It starts with us, and we decide where it goes.1 picture4Fakes and ScamsAI can now copy a voice and a face from videos posted online. The tricks are new, but the warning signs are old: hurry, secrecy, and money that is hard to get back.3 pictures✓Practice and quizTry it yourself, the three things to remember, and a short quiz.

Part 1AI Is Not New, and Not One Thing

AI (artificial intelligence) is one word for a whole family of computer tools. Some kinds are more than 70 years old, and you already use them every day.

One Word, Many Machines
Listen to this part1:01
One Word, Many MachinesA bicycle, a pickup, a tractor, and a semi truck are all vehicles with different jobs and rules. AI is also one word for many different tools. ONE WORD, MANY MACHINESVEHICLEBicyclePickupTractorSemi truckAI is one word for many tools tooMachine learningNeural networksDeep learningSpeech recognitionChatbotsAgents1234
Read all 4 details
  1. 1One word, many machines. Vehicle is one word for many machines. AI (artificial intelligence) is one word for many different tools.
  2. 2Different jobs. A pickup hauls hay and a tractor works the field. Each kind of AI is built for its own job, like hearing speech, sorting photos, or writing drafts.
  3. 3Different rules. Anyone can ride a bicycle, but a semi needs a special license. Newer, more powerful AI needs more care and more checking.
  4. 4Ask which kind. When someone says we should use AI, ask: which kind, for what job, and with what information?
You Already Use AI Every Day
Listen to this picture0:48
You Already Use AI Every DayA phone in the middle connected to five everyday uses of AI: the spam folder, drive time on a map, bank fraud alerts, face unlock, and talking to type. YOU ALREADY USE AI EVERY DAYAIinsideSpam folderDrive time to town!Bank fraud alertFace unlockHelloTalk to type12345
Read all 5 details
  1. 1Spam folder. Your email learns what junk mail looks like from millions of examples and moves it aside. That is machine learning.
  2. 2Drive time. Your phone map estimates how long the drive to town will take using patterns from past traffic.
  3. 3Fraud alert. Banks use AI to spot a charge that does not fit your usual pattern and send you an alert.
  4. 4Face unlock. Many phones use a neural network to recognize your face before they unlock.
  5. 5Talk to type. When you talk to your phone to write a message, speech recognition turns your words into text.
AI Is Not New: More Than 70 Years
Listen to this picture1:18
AI Is Not New: More Than 70 YearsA road with mile posts from 1952 to 2025 showing that AI has grown for more than 70 years, slowly at first and quickly in recent years. AI IS NOT NEW: MORE THAN 70 YEARS1952Hearsnumbers1956NamedAI1958Neuralnetwork1959Machinelearning2012Deeplearning2022Chatbots foreveryone2025AIagentsYears ofsteady workAI grew slowly for decades, then fast in the last few years.1234567
Read all 7 details
  1. 11952: hearing numbers. Researchers at Bell Telephone Laboratories built a machine that recognized the spoken numbers zero through nine.
  2. 21956: the name. Scientists chose the name artificial intelligence for a summer research meeting at Dartmouth College.
  3. 31958: the perceptron. The perceptron, an early neural network that could learn, was described. It is an ancestor of today's AI.
  4. 41959: machine learning. A checkers program got better by learning from its own games. Its creator called this machine learning.
  5. 52012: deep learning. A deep learning system did much better than earlier methods at recognizing what is in photos.
  6. 62022: chatbots. Public chatbots arrived, built on a 2017 design called the transformer.
  7. 72025: agents. AI agents that carry out multistep tasks for people became a focus, along with new safety testing.
The AI Family Tree, Oldest to Newest
Listen to this picture1:26
The AI Family Tree, Oldest to NewestA Great Basin juniper as the AI family tree: machine learning in the roots, neural networks as the trunk, deep learning and speech recognition as branches, chatbots higher up, and agents as the newest shoot. THE AI FAMILY TREE: OLDEST TO NEWESTChatbotsSince 2022 · GrowingAgentsSince 2025 · NewestDeep learningSince 2012 · MatureSpeech recognitionSince 1952 · MatureNeural networksSince 1958 · ProvenMachine learningSince 1959 · Proven123456
Read all 6 details
  1. 1Machine learning. One of the oldest and most proven kinds of AI, and the root the others grow from. It learns patterns from many examples instead of following written rules. Spam filters and fraud alerts use it.
  2. 2Neural networks. Layers of simple math units, loosely modeled on brain cells, that adjust as they learn. The trunk the newer branches grow from.
  3. 3Deep learning. Neural networks with many layers. Since 2012 it has made computers good at seeing photos and hearing speech, and it powers most modern AI.
  4. 4Speech recognition. Turns spoken words into text. Early versions date to 1952; deep learning made it good enough for everyday phones, meeting minutes, and language recordings, with permission.
  5. 5Chatbots. Large language models write by predicting the next word. Helpful for drafts, but they can sound sure and still be wrong.
  6. 6Agents. AI that plans and takes steps on its own, like sending email or filling in forms. Agents are the newest and least tested. Hidden instructions can hijack them, so a person should check and approve every action.
← Start here

Part 2How AI Works, and Why We Check

Computers are fast at searching. AI goes one step further: it learns patterns from many examples and makes a likely guess. Fast is not the same as right.

Finding Our Photographs
Listen to this part1:05
Finding Our PhotographsTwo ways to find old photographs of our people: driving to a far library and searching boxes by hand for weeks, or typing a search at home and getting results in minutes. BY HANDWITH A COMPUTER SEARCHDrive to the libraryOpen boxes, one photo at a timeWeeksour tribe 1930sType a search from homeThe computer looks through millionsMinutesAI is a computer tool that finds patterns and makes answers from them.1234
Read all 4 details
  1. 1The old way. Someone drives to a library far away and searches boxes by hand. It can take weeks, and they may still miss photos.
  2. 2A computer search. A search tool looks through millions of records in seconds. Many libraries and archives now offer online searches like this.
  3. 3Where AI comes in. AI (artificial intelligence) goes further. It can look at the photos themselves and sort them by what it sees, like people, horses, or landscapes, even when no one wrote a label.
  4. 4The big idea. AI is a tool. It is fast at finding patterns, but it does not know our families, our history, or what matters to us.
How AI Learns From Examples
Listen to this picture0:34
How AI Learns From ExamplesMany example photos go in, the computer finds a pattern, and then it can guess what a new photo shows. HOW AI LEARNS: FROM MANY EXAMPLESThousands of examplesIt finds patterns"a person"New photoPerson: likelyNo one wrote rules. The computer learned from examples.This is called machine learning.123
Read all 3 details
  1. 1Examples. AI is shown thousands of examples. Some photos show people, some show land.
  2. 2Patterns. The computer finds what the examples have in common. Nobody writes the rules by hand.
  3. 3A guess, not a fact. On a new photo it makes a guess. It says likely, not certainly. It can be wrong, especially with things it saw few examples of, like our own people and places.
How a Chatbot Writes
Listen to this picture0:39
How a Chatbot WritesLike the word suggestions on a phone keyboard, a chatbot writes by picking the most likely next word, one stepping stone at a time. HOW A CHATBOT WRITES: ONE WORD AT A TIMEYour phoneseeyouatSame idea,much biggerTheTribalCouncilmetonMondayIt has read a huge library of writing.It picks the word most likely to come next.Each stepping stone is the next likely word123
Read all 3 details
  1. 1You already use this. Your phone keyboard suggests the next word as you type. A chatbot works on the same idea, at a much larger scale.
  2. 2What it learned from. It learned patterns from a huge amount of written text. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) describes these models as predicting the next word.
  3. 3One word at a time. It writes by picking a likely next word, again and again. It is not looking anything up unless the app also searches the web or your files.
Sounds Sure, Can Be Wrong
Listen to this picture0:34
Sounds Sure, Can Be WrongLike a cousin giving confident directions down a road they have never driven, AI can sound certain and still be wrong. SOUNDS SURE. CAN BE WRONG.!Road washed out"Take the left fork.It goes straight through!"AI answers soundjust as sure when wrongAlways check the source123
Read all 3 details
  1. 1The confident guide. AI writes smoothly and sounds sure of itself, even when it has no real answer. Ask the same question twice and you may get two different answers.
  2. 2Confabulation. When AI states something false with confidence, experts call it confabulation, or hallucination.
  3. 3Check the source. Before you rely on an answer, open the document it points to and make sure it says what the AI claims.
The Phone Map Said Turn Here
Listen to this picture0:33
The Phone Map Said Turn HereFollowing a phone map onto a closed dirt road toward the reservoir shows automation bias: trusting the machine over what you can see. THE PHONE MAP SAID TURN HEREReservoirTurn right on dirt roadROAD CLOSEDLook up from the screenCheck what you seeYou decide123
Read all 3 details
  1. 1Trusting the screen. People sometimes follow a phone map onto a closed road even when the signs say stop. Experts call this automation bias.
  2. 2The real signs. With AI, the real signs are the original source and what you already know about your own community.
  3. 3The guard. Ask where the answer came from, open that source, and trust what you can see. Look up from the screen before you act.

Using a chatbot well

Good first jobs

Drafting a letter or a flyer, explaining a hard word or form in plain language, practicing for a job interview, or brainstorming names for an event.

Always check

Dates, phone numbers, hours, laws, and anything about health, money, or benefits. Open the source or call the office.

Ask twice

Ask the same question again, or ask where the answer came from. If the answers do not match, slow down and check.

← AI Is Not New, and Not One Thing

Part 3Your Information, Your Choice

Information about you, your family, and our community is like our water. It starts with us, and we decide where it goes.

Our Data Is Like Our Water
Listen to this part1:05
Our Data Is Like Our WaterData flows from our people and lands like water from the mountains. The tribe controls the headgate and decides which fields it reaches; outside users need an agreement. Our people,lands, storiesTribe holds the keyOUR DATA IS LIKE OUR WATERIt starts with us, and we decide where it goes1234
Read all 4 details
  1. 1Where it comes from. Information about you, your family, our lands, and our culture starts with us, like snowmelt in the mountains.
  2. 2The headgate. You decide where your information goes, the way a headgate decides which fields the water reaches. For a Native nation, the right to govern its own information is called data sovereignty.
  3. 3Our fields. Your information should help you, your family, and your community first.
  4. 4Outside users. Many free AI (artificial intelligence) apps keep what you type, and some use it to train their AI unless you turn that off. What we post publicly, like family photos or language lessons, can be copied by outside AI, so think before you post.

The community board test, at home

Before you type anything into a free AI app, ask one question: would I pin this on the community board at the post office, for anyone to read?

Yes: go ahead

A recipe question, help wording a flyer for the bake sale, or a question about how something works. Nothing private.

No: keep it out

Social Security, bank, and card numbers, passwords, medical details, children's information, photos of IDs, and anything about another person that they did not agree to share.

Sacred stays out

Ceremonial knowledge and stories that are not meant to be shared stay out of AI apps. So do photos and recordings of Elders, unless they say yes.

Check your AI app's privacy settings

  • Open the app's Settings and look for a Privacy or Data section.
  • Find the setting about using your chats to improve or train the AI. Turn it off if you prefer.
  • Look through your chat history and delete chats that hold personal information.
  • Before you upload a photo or a file, ask the community board question again.
  • Check the privacy settings on your social media too. Public posts, photos, and videos can be copied.
← How AI Works, and Why We Check

Part 4Fakes and Scams

AI can now copy a voice and a face from videos posted online. The tricks are new, but the warning signs are old: hurry, secrecy, and money that is hard to get back.

The Call That Sounds Right
Listen to this part1:14
The Call That Sounds RightAI copies a voice from videos posted online, then calls an Elder pretending to be a grandchild in trouble, and calls the finance office pretending to be a tribal leader asking for a wire transfer. THE CALL THAT SOUNDS RIGHTVideos posted onlineAI copies the voiceGrandma, it's me. I needbail money. Don't tell Mom.FinanceThis is the Administrator.Wire $40,000 today.Hurry + secrecy + money = STOP1234
Read all 4 details
  1. 1Copied from online videos. AI (artificial intelligence) can copy a person's voice and face from recordings posted online. The FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) warns that criminals use this for fake calls, photos, and video chats.
  2. 2The family emergency. A caller sounds like a grandchild in trouble and asks for money fast. The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) warns that AI voice cloning makes this old scam more convincing.
  3. 3The boss's voice. A call or video that looks and sounds like a boss or a leader asks someone to send money or change bank details. A familiar voice alone is never proof.
  4. 4The warning signs. Hurry, secrecy, and money that is hard to get back, like wire transfers, gift cards, or cryptocurrency.
Seeing Is Not Always Believing
Listen to this picture0:54
Seeing Is Not Always BelievingThree kinds of AI fakes: a fake disaster photo for a charity scam, a fake video call from a leader, and a real meeting recording changed to add words never said. SEEING IS NOT ALWAYS BELIEVINGFake photo!A flood that neverhappened, for a fakecharity driveFake video call!A leader's face andvoice, asking fora quick favorChanged recording!A real meeting withnew words someonenever saidCheck the source, not just your eyes and ears.1234
Read all 4 details
  1. 1Fake photos. AI can make pictures of disasters or people that never existed, often used for fake charities and fake profiles.
  2. 2Fake video calls. Criminals have used live video calls with copied faces and voices of business leaders. Look for lag, odd eyes or hands, and voices that do not match, but do not count on spotting it.
  3. 3Changed recordings. A real video or voice message can be changed to put new words in someone's mouth. Before you share a shocking clip, find where it first came from.
  4. 4Check the source. Fakes keep getting better. Call the person back, check with the group the message claims to come from, and look for the same news from a source you trust.
Our Guards Against Fakes
Listen to this picture1:05
Our Guards Against FakesFive guards against AI fakes and scams: slow down, hang up and call back on a known number, use a family code word, have two people approve payments, and report it. OUR GUARDS AGAINST FAKESSlow downDon't rushHang up,call backcodeFamilycode wordTwo peopleapprovepaymentsReport itic3.govReal family and real leaders will understand a call back.12345
Read all 5 details
  1. 1Slow down. Scammers rush you so you do not think. Take a breath, even if it sounds urgent.
  2. 2Hang up and call back. Call the person back on a number you already know is theirs, not the number that called you.
  3. 3Family code word. Agree on a secret word only your family knows. Ask for it when a call does not feel right.
  4. 4Two people approve. Before you send money, talk with someone you trust. At work, two people approve any payment or change to bank details, and a voice or video alone is never enough.
  5. 5Report it. Report scams to the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at ic3.gov, and to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. If you sent money, call your bank right away. Anyone can be fooled.

Why this matters

In 2024, people age 60 and older reported nearly $4.9 billion in losses to the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), in more than 147,000 complaints. Anyone can be fooled, so there is no shame in reporting.

Set up your family's guards

  1. 1
    Choose a code word

    Pick a word or phrase only your family knows. Share it in person, not by text or social media, and make sure Elders and children know it.

  2. 2
    Save the real numbers

    Put the phone numbers of family members, your bank, and the clinic in your phone, so you can hang up and call back on a number you know.

  3. 3
    Post with care

    Make social media accounts private, and think twice before posting long videos of your voice and face.

  4. 4
    Agree on a rule

    No money, gift cards, or cryptocurrency goes out because of a call or message until you call back and check.

  5. 5
    Know where to report

    ic3.gov, ReportFraud.ftc.gov, your bank, and your local or tribal police.

← Your Information, Your Choice

ReviewPractice and quiz

Listen to the practice steps1:14

Try it at home

About twenty minutes, with your own phone or computer and your family.

  1. Find the AI you already use: open your email's spam folder, check the drive time on your phone map, and try talking to your phone to type a message.
  2. If you use a chatbot, ask it a question you already know the answer to, like the hours of your community center or the history of your town. Write down what it gets right and wrong.
  3. Ask the same question a second time, then ask, "Where did that answer come from?" Open the source it gives and check it.
  4. Open the chatbot app's Settings. Find the privacy or data setting about training, and delete any chats that hold personal information.
  5. At your next family meal, choose a family code word. Make sure Elders and children know it, and do not post it anywhere.
  6. Save the real phone numbers of family members and your bank in your phone, so you can hang up and call back.

Remember

AI is a family of tools

Fast is not the same as right: check

Hang up, call back, use a code word

Check what you learned

1. Your email moves junk mail to a spam folder on its own. Is that AI (artificial intelligence)?

2. You ask a chatbot what time the clinic opens on Saturday. It answers right away and sounds sure. What do you do?

3. How does a chatbot write an answer?

4. Your niece wants help writing a letter to her landlord about a broken heater. What should she type into a free AI (artificial intelligence) app?

5. Your "grandson" calls crying and asks for gift cards right away. What helps most?

← Fakes and Scams

ResourcesWords and resources

Words to know

Artificial intelligence (AI)
One word for a whole family of computer tools that find patterns in many examples and use them to make answers, suggestions, or decisions. It is not new: the name dates to the 1950s.
Machine learning
One of the oldest and most proven kinds of AI. It learns patterns from examples instead of following rules a person wrote.
Deep learning
Neural networks with many layers. It made computers good at seeing photos and hearing speech.
Speech recognition
AI that turns spoken words into text.
Chatbot or large language model (LLM)
AI that writes by picking the next most likely word, again and again. Helpful for drafts, but it can sound sure and still be wrong.
AI agent
The newest kind of AI. It plans and takes steps on its own to finish a task, like sending email or filling in forms. It is the least tested, so a person should approve every action.
Prompt
The question or instruction you give an AI tool.
Confabulation (hallucination)
An answer that sounds sure of itself but is false.
Automation bias
Trusting a machine more than what you can see for yourself.
Public AI tool
A free or paid AI app or website that anyone can use. What you type may be kept by the company, so only information you would pin on the community board goes in.
Data sovereignty
The right of a Native nation to govern the collection, ownership, and use of its own information.
Deepfake
A fake photo, video, or recording made with AI to look and sound real.
Voice cloning
AI that copies a person's voice from recordings so a caller can sound like them.
Family code word
A secret word only your family knows, used to check that a caller is really family.
Wire transfer
Money sent directly from one bank account to another. Once it is sent, it is very hard to get back, which is why scammers ask for it.
Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
The FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) office where anyone can report online crime and scams, at ic3.gov.

Learn more

For teachers and digital navigators: how to run this class (60 minutes)

Lesson plan

  1. 5 minRead the story. Ask: has anyone had a call or message that did not feel right?
  2. 12 minPart 1: the vehicles and everyday pictures. Show of hands: who has used a spam folder, a phone map, or talk to type? That is AI.
  3. 13 minPart 2: how AI learns and writes. Live demo: ask a chatbot a local question everyone knows the answer to, ask it twice, and check the source together.
  4. 10 minPart 3: the water picture and the community board test. Read examples aloud and have the group call out yes or no.
  5. 12 minPart 4: fakes and scams. Each person writes a possible family code word on a card to take home, and saves one real family number in their phone.
  6. 8 minQuiz together with a show of hands, then the three Remember cards and where to report.

What you need

  • Projector or large TV for the slides
  • Printed handouts, one per person
  • Index cards and pens for the family code word activity
  • Optional: a laptop with a chatbot for a live demonstration, using only public questions
  • Participants' own phones

Talk about it

  • Where have you already seen AI in your day, maybe without knowing it?
  • What would you never type into a free AI app? Why?
  • How would your family know a call is really from one of you?

The PowerPoint slides follow this plan, with the story and every picture detail in the speaker notes.

References

  1. Apple. (n.d.). About Face ID advanced technology. Apple Support. https://support.apple.com/102381
  2. Dartmouth College. (n.d.). Artificial intelligence (AI) coined at Dartmouth. https://home.dartmouth.edu/about/artificial-intelligence-ai-coined-dartmouth
  3. Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2024, December 3). Criminals use generative artificial intelligence to facilitate financial fraud (Alert No. I-120324-PSA). Internet Crime Complaint Center. https://www.ic3.gov/PSA/2024/PSA241203
  4. Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2025). Internet crime report 2024. Internet Crime Complaint Center. https://www.ic3.gov/AnnualReport/Reports/2024_IC3Report.pdf
  5. Federal Trade Commission. (2020, October 22). FTC announces new fraud reporting platform for consumers: ReportFraud.ftc.gov [Press release]. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2020/10/ftc-announces-new-fraud-reporting-platform-consumers-reportfraudftcgov
  6. Gregersen, E. (2026, October 7). ChatGPT. Encyclopaedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/technology/ChatGPT
  7. Krizhevsky, A., Sutskever, I., & Hinton, G. E. (2012). ImageNet classification with deep convolutional neural networks. In Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 25. https://papers.nips.cc/paper/2012/hash/c399862d3b9d6b76c8436e924a68c45b-Abstract.html
  8. National Institute of Standards and Technology. (2024). Artificial intelligence risk management framework: Generative artificial intelligence profile (NIST AI 600-1). https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.AI.600-1
  9. National Institute of Standards and Technology. (2025, January 17). Technical blog: Strengthening AI agent hijacking evaluations. https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2025/01/technical-blog-strengthening-ai-agent-hijacking-evaluations
  10. Puig, A. (2023, March 20). Scammers use AI to enhance their family emergency schemes. Federal Trade Commission Consumer Advice. https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2023/03/scammers-use-ai-enhance-their-family-emergency-schemes
  11. Rosenblatt, F. (1958). The perceptron: A probabilistic model for information storage and organization in the brain. Psychological Review, 65(6), 386–408. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0042519
  12. Samuel, A. L. (1959). Some studies in machine learning using the game of checkers. IBM Journal of Research and Development, 3(3), 210–229. https://doi.org/10.1147/rd.33.0210
  13. Spicer, D. (2021, June 9). Audrey, Alexa, Hal, and more. Computer History Museum. https://computerhistory.org/blog/audrey-alexa-hal-and-more/
  14. Vaswani, A., Shazeer, N., Parmar, N., Uszkoreit, J., Jones, L., Gomez, A. N., Kaiser, L., & Polosukhin, I. (2017). Attention is all you need. In Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 30. https://research.google/pubs/attention-is-all-you-need/
← Practice and quiz

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