We can adapt the title of that great Cohen film to AI: there is no AI for old people. The majority of AI chatbot users are young and the older ones usually have technical knowledge. The AI boom, like other technological booms, is leaving out the older onesexcept in China.
Hello, grandmother. They tell it in Nikkei Asia. Large Chinese technology companies such as ByteDance and Tencent are designing chatbots and apps with AI with older users in mind. Doubao, the most popular chatbot in China, has launched advertising campaigns targeting retirees, highlighting its accessible features; It allows you to converse by voice, understands dialects and even addresses users as grandfather or grandmother.
According to data from China Internet Network Information Centerthe number of AI users between 50 and 59 years old represent 10% of the total and those over 60 years old only 5%. They are still a minority, but there is a curious fact and that is that, although the adoption rate in this group is much lower, the users who start using it are more loyal and use it frequently.
Everyday help. In Nikkei they tell the story of Chen Bing, a 63-year-old woman who has made AI her personal assistant. He used it to organize an event with alumni of his school, from sharing expenses to generating a video that he used in the background of a poetry workshop. It also helps you identify flowers and read fine print. According to Chen, AI gives him independence and prevents him from having to constantly ask his children for help.
And health. There are other AI proposals aimed at the elderly, such as Ant Afu, a health chatbot with which users can get advice and access health services. However, it has generated criticism, first of all due to possible conflicts of interest. In the past, there was a scandal because Baidu recommended hospitals and treatments based on paid advertisements and there are doubts that this system has similar influences. On the other hand, there is the question that AI continues to fail a lot in diagnosis.
The silver economy. It is what the market for products and services aimed at older people is called in China. China already has 323 million retirees and the government is promoting these types of initiatives since it sees great potential for consumption by the elderly, something they need to encourage in the midst of an economic recession. It is estimated that by 2035, the silver economy will account for 10% of the country’s entire gross domestic product
Aging population. It is one of the problems facing China today. The government is trying literally everything for stimulate birth (without much successby the way) and have also raised raise the retirement age. However, the aging of the population is not something exclusive to China, it is also a problem that Europe and more countries in the northern hemisphere We have been dragging on for a long time. In the European Union there are some initiatives such as digital literacy courses for seniorsbut at the private company level, the proposals are very niche.
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