I’m Not HAL

I’m Not HAL

Plain-English AI from a real person.

Practical AI from 31 years in IT

Help ordinary adults use AI to their advantage, safely and without hype, explained by a former teacher who has been hooked on computers since 1980.

Why the name? HAL 9000 was the know-it-all computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey. I’m not HAL, just a former teacher and coach explaining AI in plain English.

Free · every week · by Paul O'Brien

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What you get

The news, in plain English

A handful of AI stories that actually affect you, each with "why it matters to you" and a source link.

Tip of the week

One practical technique you can try in under ten minutes.

I tried this

A first-hand story from Paul's own team of AI agents: what worked, what broke, what he learned.

Agent shelf

Useful public agents, templates and plugins, with an honest note on what each is good for.

How-to

A short step-by-step walkthrough, checked against the product's official docs.

Latest issue

Issue 01 · Week of October 18, 2026

A deepfake “grant” scam, an AI that filed a fake police tip, and how to give your bot a job description

  • A deepfake “grant” post cost some veterans their benefits
  • An AI agent submitted a fake tip to the police
  • Google’s new shopping cart watches prices for you
  • ChatGPT’s newest model is now free for everyone
  • How to: set up a daily morning brief in Grok Bot
Read Issue 01 →

See all past issues.

The Guide: Getting the Best from AI Agents

A living user guide, revised as the tools change, with Grok Bot as the main example. Each chapter carries a "last reviewed" date.

  1. What an AI agent actually is (and isn't)
  2. Getting started safely: accounts, plans, privacy
  3. Writing a clear job description for your bot
  4. Building a team of bots
  5. Handoffs: how bots pass work along
  6. Email, calendar and connectors
  7. Trust but verify: fact-checking and citations
  8. Approvals and guardrails: nothing goes out without you
  9. Real projects, start to finish
  10. Costs, limits and when not to use AI

Chapters will be linked as they're published.

Read the guide →

About Paul

I started out as a junior high English teacher, coaching football, baseball and track. Then in 1980 I spent $199 on a Sinclair ZX80, just to see what all this "personal computer" stuff was about.

I was hooked. That little machine led to 31 years in IT as a programmer, analyst and IT director for several high-tech companies. In 2000 I started my own small-business consulting firm, with clients in Massachusetts, Texas, California and Florida.

Now I've been bitten again, this time by what AI makes possible. I still think like a teacher and a coach, so this newsletter is me explaining what I learn in plain English. Come along for the ride as I explore how AI can make your everyday life better.

How this newsletter is made: Paul's AI agents help gather and check news and draft each issue. Paul edits and approves everything before it's published.

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