Hello Reader,

I was thinking about movie assistants while working on this week’s podcast, and somehow I nearly overlooked one from a favorite movie of mine: JARVIS from Iron Man.

Apparently, I need an assistant to remind me about assistants. 😄

Tony Stark has this calm, capable voice helping him manage his home and build a flying suit. I’d settle for a little help keeping track of appointments and finding that email I know I saw somewhere.

That’s part of what makes today’s AI assistants so interesting. Depending on the tool, they can move beyond answering a question and start doing things for us. But once a helper wants access to my email, calendar, or credit card, I have a few questions of my own.

What exactly am I giving it permission to do?

Earlier this week, I wrote to you about passwords. This takes that conversation one step further: an assistant might not see your password, but it may still be able to work inside an account you’ve connected. That distinction is worth understanding.

In this week’s Mr. Fred’s Tech Talks, “AI Can Do It for You. Should You Let It?”, I walk through how this works, what to check, and where it makes sense to pause before letting a helper act.

You don’t need to be booking flights or running a company for this to matter. Keeping up with a regular Tuesday gives most of us plenty to organize.

👉 Listen to “AI Can Do It for You. Should You Let It?”

I’m excited about the possibilities. I also want us to feel comfortable asking questions before clicking “Allow.” That’s part of why GetMeCoding participates as a Cybersecurity Awareness Champion through the National Cybersecurity Alliance.

Give this one a listen on your next walk, drive, or laundry-folding session. Sadly, the assistant still leaves the actual folding to us.

Keep learning and keep tinkering, Mr. Fred

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P.S. If you had your own JARVIS, what’s the first everyday chore you’d hand over? Hit reply and tell me. I suspect “deal with my inbox” will have some competition.