Unlocking AI Creativity in Hastings: A Guide for the 40+ Generation
Technology is transforming every corner of our lives – even here in Hastings, Minnesota. If you’re over 40 with limited math or coding background, you might wonder if the world of artificial intelligence (AI) creation is beyond your reach. The good news is that it’s not. In fact, AI has never been more accessible. You don’t need a PhD in computer science or decades of programming experience to create something amazing with AI. All it takes is the right mindset, some curiosity, and a willingness to play with new tools. In a town known for its strong community values and small-town innovation, residents of Hastings are perfectly poised to become AI creators, blending our tradition of creativity and “Minnesota nice” collaboration with cutting-edge tech. This deep dive will explore how anyone – including you – can get into AI creation, focusing on accessible arenas like AI art, chatbots, personal productivity helpers, and small business applications. We’ll highlight the mindsets and habits that matter more than math, the no-code tools that make AI creation easier than ever, and the local context that makes Hastings a great place to start this journey. Let’s turn skepticism into inspiration and see how you can transform your career or creative life with AI, one step at a time.
AI Creation Is Closer Than You Think (No Coding Required)
No-code “vibe coding” lets you build software by conversing with an AI assistant rather than writing code, making programming feel as easy as chatting over coffee hastingsnow.com.
Despite what many think, working with AI doesn’t mean diving into complex math or writing thousands of lines of code. In recent years, “no-code” AI platforms have emerged that let you build AI models and applications through simple interfaces. These tools eliminate the need for programming skills, using visual drag-and-drop workflows and pre-built templates to put advanced AI capabilities in anyone’s hands kovaion.comkovaion.com. In other words, you can create an AI just by clicking, dragging, and describing what you want – no fiddling with formulas or syntax.
Imagine “coding” a new website or app by simply chatting about your idea, the same way you’d chat with a friend over coffee. No semicolons or manuals required – just tell the AI what you want and watch it build your vision hastingsnow.com. This isn’t science fiction; it’s happening now. Tech experts even have a nickname for it – “vibe coding” – because it feels more like collaborating with a helpful robot partner than traditional programming hastingsnow.comhastingsnow.com. As a result, this AI-assisted approach “lowers the barrier to try something new” for everyday creators hastingsnow.com. You don’t need to work at Google or have a computer science degree to benefit. All you need is an idea and a willingness to tinker in conversation with an AI hastingsnow.comhastingsnow.com.
This accessibility revolution in AI isn’t just hype – it’s visible in how widely these tools are being adopted. Generative AI (the kind that creates text, images, or music) is now used by 65% of organizations worldwide bizbuysell.com. And it’s not just big companies: over half of small businesses have integrated AI into at least one operation as of late 2024 bizbuysell.com. Main Street businesses are jumping on board – in fact, the rate of AI adoption among small business owners nearly doubled from 2023 to 2024 bizbuysell.com. What are they using AI for? Marketing leads the way (over 75% of owners using AI leverage it for marketing content and outreach), followed by data analytics and customer service assistance bizbuysell.com. That means your favorite cafe or boutique in downtown Hastings might already be using AI to help write Facebook posts or answer customer questions. If thousands of entrepreneurs and creatives with no formal tech background can do it, so can you.
Mindset Over Math: Soft Skills for AI Innovators
Stepping into AI creation is less about technical prowess and more about the mindset and soft skills you bring. Here are some of the most valuable qualities that will serve you well on this journey:
Curiosity and Lifelong Learning: A curious mind is your greatest asset. Approaching AI with a “what does this button do?” attitude turns every interaction into a learning experience. Many Hastings residents over 40 have seen technology evolve from rotary phones to smartphones – you’ve successfully learned new tools before, and you can do it again. Treat AI as a new world to explore. Ask questions, press buttons, experiment with features. Curiosity will keep you moving forward even when you hit a snag, and it makes the process fun rather than frustrating. (Notably, older Americans’ curiosity about AI is growing – generative AI use among people over 50 nearly doubled from 9% in 2023 to 18% in 2024 aarp.org, showing that many are giving it a try.)
Creativity and Storytelling: You might be surprised how important creativity is in the AI field. Whether you’re crafting a prompt to generate a piece of art or designing a friendly chatbot personality for your business, storytelling skills go a long way. In fact, being able to imagine and describe what you want is often more crucial than knowing how the algorithm works. For example, creating AI art is about painting a picture with words – the better you can conjure a vivid description or story, the more striking the result. Similarly, building an AI chatbot can feel like writing dialogues for a play; you’re scripting how it should talk and respond. Your life experience is a rich library of stories and ideas to draw from. Many folks in their 40s, 50s, and beyond find that prompting AI is a creative exercise, not a technical one. One media expert noted that when it comes to making useful AI (like custom chatbots), “subject matter expertise [and] being human are key” – your unique perspective and imagination are what make the AI output meaningful medium.com, medium.com. In short, don’t think of AI as replacing your creativity – think of it as amplifying it.
Collaboration and Community: AI creation isn’t a solitary pursuit. It thrives on collaboration – both collaborating with the AI itself and with other people. When you work with an AI tool, you’re essentially in a dialogue: you provide input, the AI gives output, and you refine it. Treat the AI as a partner or assistant that can iterate with you. Moreover, the human community around AI is incredibly supportive. Embrace the habit of asking for help or sharing what you’re learning. Here in Hastings, our tight-knit community vibe is a huge advantage hastingsnow.com. We’re used to neighbors helping neighbors, whether it’s at a barn raising or a tech workshop. Leverage that! Maybe you pair up with a friend to co-create an AI-driven project – two heads are better than one. Or join local and online groups; there are friendly AI enthusiast communities (and yes, even beginners over 40 are welcome and present in those). By collaborating and talking openly about what you’re doing, you’ll learn faster and have more fun. Remember, technology is a team sport, and in a town that values togetherness, you’re never alone in your learning.
Systems Thinking: While you don’t need advanced math, a bit of logical thinking and seeing the big picture will help. Systems thinking is about understanding how different pieces fit together. For instance, if you’re building a simple AI-driven tool for your small business, you might consider: where does the input data come from? what steps does the AI take with it? how will the output be used? This mindset helps you design solutions that actually work for your needs. Luckily, many over-40 learners have this skill in spades from life experience – whether you organized events, managed a household, or led projects at work, you’ve had to think systematically. Applying that to AI might mean sketching out a little flow of what you want to automate, or breaking a creative task into smaller chunks that an AI can handle. For example, if you were making a chatbot to answer customer questions, systems thinking might involve writing down common questions (input), desired answers (output), and then using an AI service to link them. You already have the logic; AI will handle the heavy lifting. Think of it like cooking: you decide the menu and gather ingredients (conceptual planning), and AI is the sous-chef that chops and stirs under your direction.
Ethical Awareness and Empathy: AI is powerful, which means we need to use it thoughtfully. One key habit for any AI creator is checking the work of the AI and considering its impact. For instance, if you have an AI summarizing local news, is it being fair and accurate? If you’re generating images or content, are you respecting copyrights and community standards? These might sound like high-level concerns, but in practice it’s about applying good old Midwest common sense and empathy. In Hastings, we pride ourselves on caring about our neighbors and doing the right thing; that translates directly into how we should approach AI projects. An AI might not automatically know what’s appropriate or unbiased – it learns from data that could have blind spots. Your role is to be the conscience of your AI creations. Ask questions like: “Could this result unintentionally hurt or exclude someone?” or “Am I okay with how this AI made that decision?” Having an ethical mindset will not only prevent problems, it will also make your AI solutions more genuinely useful and trusted by others. (Even the experts emphasize this; as AI enters more of our lives, issues of fairness, transparency, and privacy are top of mind in the field law.umn.edu, consortium.umn.edu.) By staying thoughtful and compassionate, you’ll create AI projects that align with the values of our community.
Finally, underlying all these soft skills is a growth mindset – the belief that you can learn and improve at any age. It’s true: you’re never too old to learn. In fact, many people find that picking up new skills later in life is incredibly rewarding and reinvigorating. Your mindset of curiosity, creativity, collaboration, and conscience will carry you further in AI creation than any calculus equation or coding trick.
No-Code Tools Opening New Creative Doors
Becoming proficient in AI creation has never been easier, thanks to a variety of no-code and low-code tools that cater to non-experts. Here are a few domains and tools where you can jump in right away, even if you’ve never written a line of code:
AI Art for All: If you’ve ever doodled on a napkin or taken a photo, you can create AI art. New AI image generators (like DALL·E, Midjourney, or Stable Diffusion) allow you to produce stunning visuals just by describing what you imagine. For example, you could type “a painting of the Mississippi River at sunset with eagles in the sky” and watch as the AI paints it for you. No brushes, no Photoshop – just your words turned into art. Thousands of hobbyists and artists are using these tools to explore visual ideas without any formal art training. It’s a wonderful outlet for creativity. Hastings has a vibrant arts scene, and you can already see tech making a local impact – imagine a Riverfront art exhibit enhanced by AI, or a community mural where neighbors contributed AI-generated designs. The key is that AI art tools are often as simple as using Google: enter a prompt, tweak a few settings (if you want), and hit “generate.” If you can search the web, you can create AI art. Many of these platforms have free trials or community versions, so they’re accessible on a budget. Don’t worry about perfection at first; treat it like play. You might even collaborate with the grandkids on a fun project – they suggest wild ideas, you input them into the AI, and everyone giggles at the fantastical results. In short, AI art lets you be an artist without the years of training, using your imagination as the palette.
Chatbots and Conversations: Chatbots aren’t just for big companies – they’ve become friendly and accessible tools for individuals and small businesses. You’ve probably heard of ChatGPT, the AI chatbot that took the world by storm. (It reached 100 million users within two months of launch, the fastest-growing consumer app in history reuters.com!) People are using chatbots like this for everything from getting cooking advice to helping with writing tasks. But beyond using a chatbot, you can also create your own custom chatbot with minimal effort. There are no-code services that let you design a chatbot by simply writing example conversations or filling in a form. For instance, if you run a local shop in Hastings, you could have a chatbot on your website or Facebook page that answers questions about your hours, products, or location – and you can set it up without writing code. Tools like Dialogflow, ManyChat, or even DIY platforms from Facebook can guide you through a series of questions to build a bot. Microsoft and Google have also introduced AI assistants that can be customized for your needs with just a few clicks. One accessible route is using Microsoft Power Virtual Agents or similar, which are designed for non-programmers: you basically drag boxes for questions and answers, and the AI handles the rest. Even if you’re not a business owner, chatbots can be a fun personal project – e.g., a chatbot that tells your kids or grandkids stories that you “train” it to know. The bottom line is that if you can type out how a conversation should go, you can create a chatbot. And thanks to large language models (the brains behind chatbots), the bot will handle the heavy lifting of language, so your job is just to steer its style and knowledge. Talk about a powerful tool for amplifying communication! As an everyday creator, you can have an AI that speaks in your voice or your brand’s voice and engages others, all without complex programming.
Personal Productivity Boosters: AI can also become your personal assistant, helping you stay organized and get more done with less effort. There’s a wave of AI-powered productivity tools that require no technical setup – you just start using them. For example, consider your daily emails and documents. Tools like Grammarly and Microsoft 365’s new Copilot feature can draft emails, summarize long documents, or even generate a first draft of a report for you. If you’ve ever stared at a blank screen unsure how to start a proposal or tricky email, these AI helpers can save the day by giving you a tailored template or summary to build on. Another area is scheduling and note-taking. AI schedulers (like x.ai or Clara in the past, now integrated into calendar apps) can arrange meetings for you by conversing with others via email – it feels like you have an actual secretary coordinating times, but it’s an AI. For note-taking, apps like Otter.ai can transcribe meetings or voice memos automatically; imagine attending a city council meeting or a workshop and having every word captured and summarized for you by an AI, so you don’t miss a detail. If you’re involved in community groups or personal projects, this can be a lifesaver. Even simple tasks like setting up to-do lists are getting AI support – Notion’s AI or Evernote’s AI can turn a bullet list of thoughts into an organized plan. The beauty is that you don’t need to create the AI tool (it’s already built); you just integrate it into your routine. Many of these features are built right into software you might already use, just waiting to be toggled on. Think of AI as an amplifier for your personal efficiency – handling rote tasks or providing smart suggestions so you can focus on what matters. And fear not, they are designed to be user-friendly: if you can use Word or Gmail, you can use AI inside those same apps.
Small Business Applications: For the entrepreneurs and small business owners in Hastings, AI can level the playing field with the big guys. You might be running a boutique, a café, or a local service, but with AI you can automate and enhance your operations in ways that save time and money. And you can do it without hiring an IT department. For example, marketing content can be generated in a snap. Need a catchy slogan for the new Rivertown Days sale? Or five fresh ideas for Facebook posts highlighting your menu specials? AI writing tools can churn out creative options for you to choose from. This is huge because marketing often falls by the wayside when you’re busy running the day-to-day – but an AI helper that writes social media captions or even press releases can keep your business active online while you focus on your craft. Customer service is another area: you can set up an AI chatbot (as mentioned above) to handle common inquiries, freeing you or your staff to address more complex customer needs. Data analysis, which used to require a consultant, is now accessible too. Suppose you have a year’s worth of sales data from your shop; a no-code AI tool could analyze it and highlight trends (like which product sells best in winter, or what times of day are busiest) – insights that help you make smarter decisions. There are user-friendly dashboards and AI services that connect to your Excel sheets or QuickBooks and do this analysis with a click. One local-minded idea: imagine a “Hastings tourist guide” chatbot that local businesses collectively contribute to, giving visitors instant answers about where to eat, shop, and explore – it could strengthen the whole community’s tourism appeal. The possibilities are endless, and importantly, they’re doable. A tech blogger recently demonstrated how accessible this is by dumping his old website’s content into an AI assistant and having it generate a refreshed, functional website for him hastingsnow.com – all without hand-coding the site from scratch. In the same spirit, a Hastings boutique owner could simply describe the website they want (e.g. “I need a simple site with our store hours, a gallery of new arrivals, and a contact form”) and let an AI web design tool draft the site’s framework hastingsnow.com. We truly have tools now that can turn plain-language requests into working solutions. For local small businesses, which often have limited resources, this is a game changer. And don’t worry that using AI means losing the personal touch – you’re still in control, editing and guiding the AI outputs to fit your unique brand and voice. Think of AI as an apprentice who can handle the grunt work, while you remain the master craftsperson guiding the vision.
Small-Town Innovation: Hastings Values Meet AI
How does all this high-tech creation fit into the fabric of a small town like Hastings? Better than you might think. Our community’s strengths and values make for fertile ground to grow AI projects that are down-to-earth, practical, and people-centered. Hastings is a place bursting with creativity and entrepreneurial spirit – we have artists, educators, shop owners, and hobbyists all “brimming with ideas that could be amplified with a little tech magic.” hastingsnow.com The idea of accessible AI is exactly that “tech magic” to bring those ideas to life. Crucially, we’ve never been a community that chases technology for its own sake; we care about what it can do for people. In a future-looking vision, Hastings is described as a town where “technology isn’t just for Silicon Valley but actually improves everyday life” while keeping our Midwest common sense intact hastingsnow.com. That line could describe our approach to AI perfectly.
Community values run deep here. We cherish real human connection – Friday night football games, river walks where you stop to chat with a neighbor, local diners where the waitress knows your order. Those values don’t disappear with AI; in fact, they can guide how we use AI in meaningful ways. For example, inclusive innovation is something we naturally practice. We listen to each other’s ideas at the local coffee shop or city council meeting. We can bring that inclusivity to AI by ensuring everyone’s voice – young or old, techie or not – is considered when designing a solution. The city of the future will need ideas from all voices, and Hastings already embraces that ethos hastingsnow.com.
Let’s consider a couple of homegrown AI ideas that align with our culture: How about an interactive historical tour of Hastings powered by AI? Visitors (or students on a field trip) could point their phone at a historic building and have an app (perhaps built with a no-code AR platform) tell them a story about it – layering our rich local history onto the real world. Or imagine a “Hastings Helper” chatbot that any resident can text with city questions: “When is trick-or-treating time this year?” “Is the ice rink open today?” and get instant, friendly answers. We have the data and community knowledge; AI can help deliver it conveniently. These aren’t big Silicon Valley projects – they’re small-town innovations that start with us identifying a need and leveraging accessible AI to meet it.
We already see sparks of this innovative spirit. The Hastings Public Library, for instance, regularly hosts technology classes and events (some through partnerships with programs like Senior Planet). The State of Minnesota is also supporting digital learning; it recently partnered to offer no-cost AI training for anyone in public service who wants to skill up innovate-us.org. That means the larger community is investing in making AI knowledge widespread. If you’re feeling a bit alone in your pursuit, don’t. There are neighbors, libraries, and state programs ready to back you. Perhaps you’ll start a local “AI Creators Club” where folks gather at the library or a coffee shop to swap tips on using new tools – it wouldn’t be the first time Hastings folks organized a club around a shared interest!
Most importantly, Hastings’ sense of community can make AI learning more comfortable. This isn’t an anonymous big-city environment where you fear looking foolish if you ask a basic question. Here, helping one another learn is part of the culture. You might find that your exploration of AI becomes a social activity: brainstorming ideas with a friend, co-learning with a spouse or child, or attending a workshop together. In a town where word-of-mouth spreads news fast, your success with an AI tool could inspire others (“Did you hear John used an AI app to design the poster for the church fundraiser? It looked great!”). Small-town networks can accelerate adoption in a very organic way.
Hastings has always balanced tradition and innovation – we preserve our history and community feel, even as we adopt new improvements. Embracing AI in our creative and work lives is just the next chapter in that story. And because we’ll do it with our values front and center, we can be a model for human-centric tech adoption. We won’t let AI turn us into strangers; we’ll make sure it brings us even closer, whether that’s through shared creative projects, better services for residents, or simply freeing up time that we can spend volunteering or socializing. In essence, AI plus Hastings values = a recipe for meaningful innovation.
From Curiosity to Creation: Your First Steps with AI
All this inspiration is great, but you might be asking: So how do I actually start? Here are some actionable steps to begin your AI creator journey, tailored for beginners and busy adults:
Play with AI in your daily life: Start small by incorporating AI tools into things you already do. For example, try using a chatbot like ChatGPT or Bing Chat to answer a question or help draft a simple email. If you’re curious about AI art, visit a free site like Craiyon or a trial of DALL·E and type a fun prompt (perhaps “Hastings skyline in the style of Van Gogh”) just to see what happens. The goal at this stage is to demystify AI – once you see it in action and realize “hey, I can do this!”, it will boost your confidence. Don’t worry about making something perfect; just explore. Think of it like dipping your toes in the Mississippi before you swim.
Leverage free learning resources: You don’t have to figure out AI alone. There are many beginner-friendly classes and tutorials, often at no cost. For instance, AARP’s Senior Planet program offers free online classes that talk about how AI is used in everyday life and what its limitations are seniorplanet.org. These are designed specifically for older adults, taught in plain language. Minnesota’s own InnovateUS initiative also provides self-paced courses on AI and innovation for anyone interested innovate-us.org. Check out local community college workshops or library events – if there’s demand, our library might host an “Intro to AI” session. Even platforms like Coursera or Udemy have beginner courses on AI literacy that don’t require coding. Set aside a little time each week to learn something new, whether it’s watching a YouTube demo of a no-code AI tool or reading an article about a small business using AI. Continuous learning is a habit, and once you start, you’ll find resources popping up everywhere. The key is to pick resources aimed at newcomers (avoid those dense PhD lectures!). Starting with structured lessons can give you a solid footing and dispel any lingering intimidation.
Join a community or find a “tech buddy”: Everything is easier with support. Identify someone in your circle who’s also interested in experimenting with AI – it could be a friend, a coworker, or even your son or granddaughter. Make it a joint project: meet up to share what you’ve tried, or tackle a small AI project together (two minds generate ideas better than one). If you don’t know anyone right away, consider joining online communities. There are forums (like Reddit’s r/ChatGPT or r/Midjourney) full of everyday people exchanging tips, many of whom are beginners too. Facebook might have a group for “AI enthusiasts over 50” or similar, where the environment is welcoming. And don’t overlook local connections – maybe propose an “AI interest group” through the Hastings Community Ed or the local Chamber of Commerce (since small biz owners are looking into AI too). By putting yourself in a community of learners, you’ll have a place to ask questions and celebrate wins. Plus, it’s more fun! Hastings thrives on togetherness, so bring that spirit into your tech journey.
Start a passion project, however small: Think of a real-world task or hobby that you’re passionate about, and ask how AI might enhance it. The trick is to choose something personally meaningful, so that your motivation stays high. For example: Are you an avid gardener? Maybe use an AI image generator to design your dream garden layout, or a chatbot to get tailored tips for Minnesota’s climate. Do you love writing or local history? Try using an AI like ChatGPT to help you outline a novel or create a script for a Hastings history podcast. If you run a small business or side gig, identify one pain point (like scheduling appointments, or responding to customer FAQs) and test an AI solution for it. The idea is to create a small pilot project for yourself. Keep it simple and achievable in a few weeks. As you apply AI to something you care about, you’ll learn much more deeply than by following abstract exercises. And you’ll create something tangible – even if it’s just a handful of AI-generated social media posts for your club, or a simple chatbot that answers library hours. That sense of accomplishment will propel you to the next project. Remember, every expert was once a beginner. The senior residents who co-created children’s stories with AI, for instance, started with just a 20-minute brainstorming session and ended up publishing a whole book of stories mcknightsseniorliving.com, mcknightsseniorliving.com. Your first AI creation could be the seed of something bigger than you expect.
Embrace trial and error (and don’t fear failure): As you take these steps, adopt an experimental mindset. Not everything will work on the first try – and that’s okay! In fact, it’s normal. You might prompt an AI image generator and get a weird, unrecognizable picture. Or set up a chatbot that gives a few wrong answers initially. Think of these as the goofy bloopers reel of your journey – sometimes frustrating in the moment, but often laughable and enlightening in hindsight. Each “mistake” is just feedback guiding you toward a better result. If something doesn’t work, tweak your approach and try again. One strength of being a bit older is that you’ve weathered enough life’s ups and downs to know that patience and persistence pay off. Treat AI learning the same way. No single hurdle is definitive. And importantly, use the resources and community around you when you get stuck – chances are someone else has encountered the same issue and can offer a tip. By cultivating resilience and a sense of humor, you’ll gradually turn trials into triumphs.
Keep ethics and purpose in focus: As you create with AI, keep asking yourself why you’re doing it and who it’s for. Keeping purpose at the center will naturally guide you to ethical, valuable projects. For example, if your goal is to help your neighbors (say, with a local info chatbot), you’ll be mindful of making the answers correct and respectful. If you’re generating art for a community event, you’ll ensure it’s inclusive and uplifting. This gentle self-check aligns with the values we hold dear in Hastings – looking out for each other. By considering the impact of your AI creations, you’ll also feel more proud of them. And if something doesn’t sit right (maybe an AI-written paragraph sounds too impersonal or an image comes out stereotypical), trust your instincts to adjust it. AI is a tool, but you are the moral and creative compass.
By following these steps, you’ll build momentum from curiosity to real creation. Every journey begins with that first small step – or in this case, maybe a first prompt or a first AI-generated doodle. Celebrate each milestone, no matter how small. Today it might be “I got an AI to write a fun poem about my dog.” Tomorrow, who knows – you could be spearheading a new AI-driven community project or launching a side business powered by AI. The possibilities will only grow as you gain confidence.
Embracing the Future: A New Chapter for Hastings’ Creators
As we wrap up, take a moment to reflect on how far technology – and you – have come. If you’ve lived 40, 50, or 60+ years, you’ve witnessed transformations that seemed unbelievable at first: the internet, smartphones, digital cameras, GPS... Each time, people adapted and found ways to make these innovations serve their needs. AI is just the latest (and maybe one of the most powerful) of these innovations. It truly is like opening a door to a new creative frontier. And the wonderful thing is that this frontier is open to everyone, not just a select few. In Hastings, we don’t let age define our capacity to contribute. Our community is full of folks who reinvent themselves in midlife or retirement – starting businesses, learning new crafts, volunteering for new causes. Embracing AI creation can be your reinventive leap or the enhancement to a passion you’ve nurtured for years.
Remember that you’re not starting from scratch. Your life experience, your understanding of people, your local insights – those give you an edge in creating AI that is meaningful and grounded. A young programmer might bring raw tech skills, but you bring wisdom and context. AI creation is an arena where those qualities matter immensely. As an aspiring AI creator over 40, you can design solutions that younger technologists might overlook, precisely because you see needs and connections that come with experience. In that sense, your age is not a hurdle; it’s an asset.
The road ahead is one of continuous learning and adaptation, but that’s nothing new to you. The mindset of curiosity, creativity, and community will keep you moving forward. And whenever you feel a tad overwhelmed, recall the supportive network around you – from Hastings’ neighborly spirit to the online communities of learners worldwide. Also recall the success stories of people like you: the seniors who co-authored storybooks with AI mcknightsseniorliving.com, the countless small business owners who’ve empowered themselves with no-code AI tools bizbuysell.com, and the everyday folks who’ve discovered new hobbies and even new careers through AI. Each of them started by saying “I’ll give it a try” – the same simple starting point you’re fully capable of taking.
As we collectively step into this future, Hastings can remain what it has always been: a community that blends tradition with innovation. We’ll use AI to enhance our small-town life – not replace it – whether that means smarter services, new creative outlets, or economic opportunities that keep our town thriving. Picture Hastings a few years from now: perhaps a local “AI Creator Fair” at the high school where young and old showcase projects side by side, or local businesses sharing AI tips at Chamber meetings, or a retirees’ club that meets to experiment with generative art for fun. These aren’t far-fetched – they’re the natural extension of what we begin today.
In closing, consider this blog post an invitation. You are invited to be not just a consumer of technology, but a creator and shaper of it. The tools are ready, the door is open, and your community is here to cheer you on. It’s time to take that curiosity and step through. Whether you’re dreaming up a chatbot to tell Hastings folklore, automating a tedious task in your work, or crafting beautiful AI-assisted art, your journey as an AI creator can start now. It’s never too late to learn, never too late to dream, and never too late to add a new chapter to your story. As we say in Minnesota, “Skol!” – cheers to your new adventure, and we can’t wait to see what you’ll create with AI.
Sources:
HastingsNow – Vibe Coding: Hastings’ Guide to AI-Powered Creativity (local blog illustrating how no-code “vibe coding” lowers barriers for creators) hastingsnow.comhastingsnow.com.
Kovaion – Top 8 No Code AI Tools (2024) (explains that no-code AI platforms use drag-and-drop interfaces, making AI development accessible to non-programmers) kovaion.comkovaion.com.
BizBuySell – Small Business AI Adoption Trends in 2025 (reports that over half of small businesses were using AI by Q4 2024, up from 26% in mid-2023) bizbuysell.com. Also notes 75%+ of these owners use AI for marketing, followed by analytics and customer service bizbuysell.com.
Reuters – ChatGPT sets record for fastest-growing user base (news that ChatGPT reached 100 million users in two months, showing the rapid adoption of AI chatbots) reuters.com.
McKnight’s Senior Living – Senior living residents use AI to create original children’s stories (story of older adults in senior housing who brainstormed and published children’s stories with help from an AI system) mcknightsseniorliving.com, mcknightsseniorliving.com.
Senior Planet/AARP – Virtual AI Resources (highlights free classes for older adults on how AI is used in daily life, indicating the availability of supportive learning resources) seniorplanet.org.
AARP Research – Tech Trends 2024 (finds that familiarity and use of generative AI is rising among people 50+, with usage doubling from 9% to 18% in one year) aarp.org.
HastingsNow – Hastings 2050: A Lighthearted Look... (envisions a future where small-town values and advanced tech co-exist; emphasizes community connection and inclusive innovation) hastingsnow.com, hastingsnow.com.
Minnesota IT Services – InnovateUS Partnership (announces free AI training for public service professionals in MN, reflecting local commitment to AI education) innovate-us.org.
