Gregory E. Schwartz - TechBuddy

TechBuddy is an AI companion that helps elderly people use their computer through natural conversation, powered by Claude Opus 4.6 as the central brain. 55 million Americans over 65 struggle with basic computer tasks and lost $4.9 billion to internet scams in 2024. TechBuddy replaces confusing menus and jargon with one sentence: "Check my email" or "Help me write a letter." Opus 4.6 selects from 35 deterministic tools and executes real actions — opening Word, reading Gmail via IMAP, detecting scams with a 3-layer shield (keyword scan, web verification, extended thinking deep analysis), managing files, troubleshooting printers, and controlling an iPhone. Family members can text TechBuddy via SMS to help remotely. The system uses all 7 Claude Code primitives, a 10-round tool-use loop, adaptive extended thinking, prompt caching, and dual vision pipelines. 35 tools. 143 tests. ~7,100 lines. Built in 6 days.