Announcements
Adopt-a-Family Program
Greg Fay announced, on behalf of Christy Gariety, that all of the children in the Adopt-a-Family program have been adopted. He said the program is also accepting extra money for food for these families, as a greater need is expected this year.
Anxious Generation Meeting
Andy Higgins announced that a meeting of the book club is planned for Wednesday, December 3, 2025, at El Toro in Miamisburg. The group will discuss Section One of “The Anxious Generation.” Attendees are welcome even if they have not read the book. The companion title “The Amazing Generation” is coming out in December 2025.
CNO 2.0 Venue and Details
The venue for tonight’s CNO 2.0 meeting was Heavier than Air Brewing Company.
Greg Fay welcomed the members that came to tonight’s meeting. Greg thanked Nick Tarkany, the owner, and his team for the great beverages and space.
Practical Uses for AI – Patrick Arehart
Greg Fay introduced Patrick Arehart as the evening’s speaker on the topic of artificial intelligence and its practical everyday uses.
Patrick started by stating that this talk is not technical and not a programming class. The focus is on practical, everyday applications that anyone can start using right away.
He described AI as “amplified intelligence.” It is a tool that expands a person’s abilities and lets them accomplish more with better quality. It helped him build parts of this presentation, and in another example, he created a complete “hygiene and hormones” PowerPoint for a friend in under a minute. AI can produce impressive results with very little input.
You can be productive with AI on day one and will improve over time. It is not a skill like playing the piano that takes years of training and practice. Within weeks it will become second nature.
Some people still worry that using AI is cheating, but the same arguments were made decades ago about calculators and word processors. Patrick said his excitement today reminds him of how he felt at age thirteen when he first realized what computers could do.
Slides
The slide deck has some additional points and the examples Patrick presented.
You can view the slide deck of the presentation here.
Better Note Taking with Dictation and AI Cleanup
Patrick has been trying for thirty-five years to talk to a computer and have it write what he says. In the past, dictation required commands and constant corrections. Today you can simply talk naturally. The computer transcribes, and AI fixes it afterward.
He demonstrated an actual example from troubleshooting Outlook where he dictated several paragraphs without stopping to fix the errors. The raw text was filled with typos, incomplete sentences, and mid-thought corrections. He then showed the polished version produced by AI, reorganized into steps, causes, and solutions.
He encouraged members to talk as if explaining something to a coworker who will organize it later.
Travel Planning Made Simple
For trip planning, Patrick asked AI for a four day plan for a trip to Phoenix. It returned a detailed list of attractions, hiking trails, restaurants, and lodging as well as travel tips and a sample itinerary. Creating a plan in minutes removes stress and saves hours of research.
Helping with CNOtes and Other Writing
Patrick showed how AI helps with CNOtes. It saves time and eliminates repetitive work. Older blog excerpts and titles were written manually, but newer ones were generated automatically, and the improvement is clear.
AI also works well as a proofreader. You can paste text and ask for grammar and spelling corrections. Since no one else sees the mistakes, it is easier to accept feedback.
Using Your Smartphone for Ideas and Notes
Patrick encouraged everyone to use the ChatGPT or Claude mobile apps. You can dictate (or type) ideas anywhere, and the app syncs them across devices. Later you can merge them into lists, outlines, or anything else you need.
Digitizing Handwritten Recipes
Patrick demonstrated how AI can convert handwritten recipes into professionally styled recipes, even when the source is incomplete, or written in cursive. AI converts them into clean digital text, fills in steps that are commonly understood, and formats them neatly.
Examples included Pumpkin Cheesecake Swirl, Sour Cream Cookies, Peanut Butter Blossoms, and a Champagne Punch recipe that originally had no instructions. AI completed each recipe with standard techniques and consistent structure.
Organizing Notes and Creating Bedtime Stories
AI can turn handwritten or scattered notes into meeting agendas, summaries, or outlines. It can also create bedtime stories by combining a few fun details about a child, such as favorite foods or toys, and turning them into a full story. You can have AI add a “lesson” like brush your teeth twice a day.
Creating a PowerPoint with AI
Patrick explained the steps he uses to build PowerPoints with AI:
- Brainstorm ideas iteratively with AI
- Ask AI to turn them into an outline
- Refine the outline iteratively with AI
- Ask AI to generate the entire presentation
This presentation used AI at many stages. Patrick noted that this approach saves hours of work while improving your presentations.
Condensing and Rewriting
AI can quickly improve or adjust writing. Patrick showed how it reduced his own biography from 115 words to 77 words, then to 50 words, and even produced a humorous version. AI is excellent at making writing shorter, cleaner, or more polished.
Patrick Arehart bio – Humorous version
The following text is exactly what the AI generated.
Patrick Arehart has been programming for more than 45 years, which is remarkable considering he still remembers when computers had floppy disks, loud fans, and error messages that actually meant something. He founded Arehart Consulting LLC back in 1988, mostly because no one could stop him, and he’s been designing databases, building systems, and fixing other people’s “quick solutions” ever since.
Patrick now uses AI in his consulting work, not because it replaces him, but because it lets him solve problems faster and look even smarter while doing it. His approach is simple: practical solutions, real-world experience, and absolutely no theories that require a chalkboard covered in Greek letters.
Start Now
Patrick encouraged everyone to try one small task this week, such as rewriting an email, digitizing a recipe, or planning a trip. AI expands creativity instead of replacing it. It is improving every few months and has reached the point where it can now extract text from images in PowerPoints, something that was not possible when he first used it.
He reminded members that the learning curve is low, the cost is reasonable (or free), and the time saved is significant.
Closing
Patrick closed by reminding everyone that AI is simply a tool that helps people become more productive and organized. It unlocks creativity, saves time, and continues to improve rapidly. Members asked questions about writing, fiction, and practical scenarios, and he encouraged them to keep experimenting and discovering new ways AI can help.
Thank You
Thank you, Patrick, for an accessible and practical look at how AI can make everyday life easier.