What AI is, what it can do, and how it can be used to cheat you

What AI is A program that has looked at billions of texts, pictures and voices and learned to guess "what comes next". It does not understand, remember or check the truth. That is why it can be fluently wrong.

What it can do Write letters, translate, summarise a topic, make pictures, copy a voice, hold a conversation. Ask it about farming, health or studies, but check with a person before a medical or money decision.

How it is used to cheat - A call in a familiar voice: "I am in trouble, send money now." Three seconds of recording is enough to clone a voice. - A fake video of a leader or a star: "invest in this app." - A message in a bank's or mobile-money brand's name: "your account will close, give the OTP." - Rumours with fake pictures: riots, floods, deaths. Look for the source before you share.

Five rules - An OTP or PIN to nobody, ever, not even "the bank". - If someone asks for money, hang up and call that person yourself on their old number. - "Now", "secretly", "account closing": any of these three means a scam. - No unknown links; apps only from the Play Store. - If you were cheated, no shame: tell 999 and your bank at once; in the first hour the money can still be stopped.

A template to teach these five rules to the elders of a neighbourhood is on this site. One afternoon's work.