SafeStep · Lifelong Learners

AI SafeStep: Jan

One shared learning journey, with clear device pathways.

AI SafeStep™: Jan is a hands-on guidebook for older adults, families, libraries, and adult-learning groups. It teaches the same five safety habits used across the whole series: Pause, Ask, Check, Protect, and Talk.

Jan is a free desktop program whose slogan is “Turn your computer into an AI computer.” It runs open engines on your own machine and offers a plain chat window, with nothing sent to a company server unless you choose it.

Choose the part that fits you today.

Choose your pathway

  1. 1. About this guidebookWhat this tool is, who makes it, what it costs, and what to expect
  2. 2. Choose your pathwayWindows computer · Mac · Linux
  3. 3. Windows computerStandard 64-bit Windows.
  4. 4. MacApple computers — the Mac download is Universal.
  5. 5. LinuxFlatpak, AppImage, or Deb packages.
  6. 6. Words on your screenWhat this tool calls each action, in its own words

Start with the device in front of you.

Begin with the one that feels easiest. You can come back later and choose a different pathway.

Pathway 1

  1. Go to jan.ai and choose the Windows download.
  2. Run the installer and open Jan.
  3. From the model list, download one small open engine.
  4. Type a simple question in the chat box and send it.
  5. Close Jan when you are finished; nothing runs in the cloud.
  6. Go to jan.ai and choose the Mac download.

What Jan calls the things this guidebook teaches.

Every AI tool uses slightly different words for the same actions. The left column is the Ask & Answer word, used across the whole series. The right column is what this tool shows on screen. When a feature is not listed below, the maker does not name it, so do not expect to find it.

Practice on any pathway

Five small tasks to learn Jan.

Task 1

Make a confusing topic easier to understand.

Five habits that work with every AI tool.

AI SafeStep™ · checkpoint

These five habits do not change when the tool changes. They are the part of this guidebook worth keeping after the buttons have been renamed.

  1. Pause. Stop before you act on an answer. Nothing an AI tool says needs to be used in the next minute.
  2. Ask. Ask again in your own words. “Please make that simpler.” “Use a real-life example.” “Give me only three steps.”
  3. Check. Check anything that affects money, health, legal matters, or safety with an official source or a trusted person.
  4. Protect. Protect private details. No Social Security number, bank or card numbers, full medical records, or passwords.
  5. Talk. Talk it over with someone you trust before a decision that costs money or changes your care.