AI for older Australians: the good, the bad and the surprising

Introduction

Whether we realise it or not, many of us interact with some form of artificial intelligence (AI) every day – from social media and navigation apps to product recommendations, chat bots, and even electric toothbrushes.

Yet a University of Queensland and KPMG study found that 61% of Australians don’t really understand what AI is and when it is used. Roy Morgan research also reported that:

• at least 64% of people aged 50 and older believe AI creates more problems than it solves

• one-quarter of Australians aged 50 to 64 believe AI presents a risk of human extinction in the next two decades.

Even if the human extinction fears are exaggerated, these findings suggest that it might be challenging for older Australians to grasp AI and its effect on our world.

What is AI?

• AI is technology that allows computers and machines to perform functions and process information in ways that look like human thinking, creating, working and analysing.

• AI can mimic human cognitive abilities like reasoning, understanding, learning and creating – although the computers and machines don’t really have these abilities.

• It’s an evolving technology, and new ways to use it are emerging all the time.

Simply put, AI allows computers – and increasingly, a wider range of electronic devices – to ‘learn’ and solve problems using machine learning algorithms and very large data sets. The concept of AI has been around since World War II, but it’s only in the last decade that it has really started to change many aspects of our personal and professional lives.

AI is here for the long term, and many of the changes it’s made are beneficial. It also has risks that you need to be aware of as the technology becomes more commonplace. However, you don’t need to avoid AI tools and technology – just be vigilant, particularly when it comes to financial scams. That’s one risk that can, potentially, increase because of AI.

What are the risks of AI?

Banks, service providers and relevant authorities have been dealing with cyber criminals (people who commit crimes through computers or the internet) for decades, because the way they use the technology to scam people keeps evolving. As AI becomes more common, it can potentially allow cyber criminals to scour the internet faster than ever and to use the information they find for harmful purposes.

• The Annual Cyber Threat Report 2022–23 by the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) found that the most common forms of cybercrime consumers reported were identity fraud, online banking fraud, online shopping fraud and investment fraud.

• The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Targeting Scams report says that Australians lost a record $3.1 billion to scams in 2022.

The ASD’s article, ‘An Introduction to Artificial Intelligence’, talks about two main areas of potential risk associated with scams and privacy:

1. AI-powered scams. ‘Generative AI’ is AI that can generate high-quality text, graphics and videos from simple written instructions in seconds. Attackers could use generative AI to create seemingly authentic scam messages – for example, fake voice recordings and video clips of public figures or people you know – or to commit identity fraud.

2. Privacy concerns. AI could be used to re-identify people from large, anonymous data sets, which could lead to their personal information being exposed and then misused.
   

Ethical questions of AI

AI also poses some ethical questions. For one thing, AI systems may perpetuate social biases and stereotypes against particular groups of people – such as older people – and lead to prejudice and exclusion.

For example, if a company uses an AI tool in their recruitment process, the system may make negative assumptions about an applicant’s abilities based on their age. Depending on the information used to train the AI, it could be possible for people over 60 years old to be automatically rejected.

AI systems could also assume, from a range of public and shared data, that an applicant holds particular political views, and this assumption could potentially be used against them when they apply for a job.

Minimise risk through awareness and education

All of this can sound scary and overwhelming – but there is a lot you can do to combat the rise in AI-fuelled scams, regardless of your age or aptitude for technology.

1. Arm yourself with understanding

The first step is to learn and understand how AI works and what it is capable of. There are plenty of resources that can help here, including the ASD’s website.

2. Be vigilant and sceptical

If an email, text or phone call seems weird, or just a little bit odd, chances are it is – especially if it asks you to do something urgently. Don’t send money or personal information to anyone, regardless of how real the message or the sender looks and sounds.

If you believe the call, email or message is valid, contact the sender directly using the phone number or email address published on their website and talk to a real person to verify the message.

3. Keep up to date on scams

There are great resources online to keep you informed about scams. One good example is the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s website, where you can find information about scams and advice on how to avoid them.

The ASD also provides some specific and commonsense tips for ‘cyber security hygiene’ in chapter 1 of its Cyber Threat Report 2022–2023. These include:

• enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) for online services, wherever it’s available

• where MFA is not available, using long, unique passwords – known as ‘passphrases’ – for every account, particularly for services like email and banking (digital password managers can be helpful here)

• turning on automatic updates for all software and heeding prompts to install manual updates

• regularly backing up important files

• being alert for phishing messages and scams

• signing up for the ASD’s free Alert Service

• reporting cybercrime to ReportCyber.

Read more about how to avoid falling for a financial scam or fraud in our article, Safeguarding against scams, frauds and identity theft

What are the benefits of AI for older people?

Despite these warnings, AI isn’t all scams and dangers. It also offers lots of benefits for society as a whole and for older people in particular.

You’ve probably heard of ChatGPT, a generative AI that took the world by storm in 2022. Generative AI tools like ChatGPT have created opportunities like:

• educational help with writing, for people who can’t write well

• increased accessibility to information, for people with disabilities

• translation tools, for non-English speakers.

ChatGPT can also help older users to improve their mental health. According to the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, ‘by learning the user’s interests, hobbies, and conversational preferences, ChatGPT can be utilised as a customised conversational partner, enabling older adults to maintain a sense of connectedness’.

Health care benefits of AI

AI in general offers new health care benefits for older Australians. Here are some examples:

• Google’s AI offering DeepMind Health helps doctors, researchers and patients solve health care problems. Its Med-PaLM 2 model has an expert-level accuracy of 86.5%, and doctors can ask it questions and have a conversation about complex medical conditions.

• In aged care, AI already plays an important role in monitoring and managing health conditions. Wearable, AI-powered health-tracking devices, like smart watches and remote monitoring devices, help older people track vital signs and receive updates about possible health issues. This can prevent medical emergencies and improve overall well-being.

• Patients with diabetes can use AI-powered remote patient monitoring systems to record their glucose levels, physical activity and diet. From this information, the AI can suggest suitable meal plans and exercise regimes to improve the patient’s blood sugar levels, which helps to reduce medical complications.

AI's impact extends beyond individual patient care. Medical researchers are using AI to analyse massive amounts of information and find patterns in diseases related to ageing. From this analysis, they can develop better treatments and potentially improve the quality of life for older people.

• For example, several years ago IBM began work in the early detection of skin cancer using its supercomputer, Watson. IBM partnered with skin cancer detection program MoleMap and the Melanoma Institute of Australia to teach the computer how to identify cancerous skin lesions early and at 90% accuracy – a level that is critical for higher survival rates.

Breaking down social isolation

Aged Care Research & Industry Innovation Australia has found that social isolation affects one in five older Australians, and AI can have a positive effect on this.

• In some markets AI-powered companion robots can provide emotional support and engage older people in conversations and activities.

• Aged care facilities in Japan have been using care robots for several decades. Some robots help lift and move hospital patients who have mobility issues and assist them with exercise. Others provide mental stimulation for dementia sufferers.

Making things easier to do

The biggest benefit of AI for older Australians is probably the simplest one: making devices easier to use. Since ChatGPT’s release in November 2022, AI has been integrated into many digital tools – like your mobile phone and the navigation in your car. In the near future, we will be able to simply ask a computer to do something for us and it will be done, without the need for hard-to-remember commands.

Integration like this will greatly reduce the digital gap between older Australians, who have been slower adopters of technology, and younger Australians, who have grown up with technology or adopted it easily. It will ensure that everyone can embrace the benefits of AI, and of technology in general.

AI is a powerful and transformative technology that has the potential to improve many aspects of our lives, particularly for older Australians. It will continue to make our technology use smoother, and it will deliver information in new ways at faster speeds.

You need to be aware that it also poses significant challenges and risks, including harmful misuse and ethical issues. But if you build up your knowledge and understanding of AI, your online safety and your scams awareness, you’ll be able to welcome and make use of its benefits!

Dr. James Curran is the CEO of Grok Academy, an Australian ed-tech charity with a mission to educate all learners in transformative computing skills, knowledge, and dispositions, empowering them to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities of the future.