Early in the winter of 2025, community members in Campbell County reached out to the Campbell FCS agent with a list of ideas for potential digital literacy classes. When speaking with the community member and FCS Agent we determined that classes explaining the fundamentals of what Artificial Intelligence are would help assuage fears some community members were having about the new technology.

As a result of this, the Digital Literacy Agent designed a basic presentation series on the Past, Present, and Future of AI to give community members an overview of what AI means, its capabilities, and the larger issues around it in public discourse. Upon posting and conducting the series in Campbell County, other groups and counties within the Central Region reached out to request the same curriculum including sites in Grant and Carroll Counties.

The target audience was anyone of working age or older but with a particular emphasis on the senior population among whom fear fueled by a lack of understanding seemed to be strongest. In total 79 individuals have been reached by these classes as a result of 1 individual bringing a concern to the Campbell County Extension office, with multiple additional classes scheduled moving forward.

Of 27 respondents, 100% indicated increased confidence in their understanding of the issues and ability to safely and appropriately use the technology and information discussed. This indicated to the Digital Literacy Agent that the original goal of assuaging fears around this emerging technology had been lessoned which will build the ground for future courses on how to responsibly and constructively use the technology.