An engaging discussion in Thurles emerged on the 9th of June during the co-creation workshop organised by Age-Friendly AI and Mary Immaculate College (MIC). Over 50 participants shared their perspectives during a lively discussion around their hopes, concerns and ideas on how to make Artificial Intelligence (AI) more age friendly.

The aim of the discussion was to learn more about the participants’ views on AI. The valuable insights gathered during this workshop will directly inform the development of an AI Literacy training programme specifically designed with and for older people, which is set to launch in early 2026.

More discussions will follow in autumn in the form of Citizen’s Think-In public discussion events. If you are interested in hearing more about our future events you can sign up to the mailing list on our website: https://agefriendlyai.ie/contact/

The discussion in Thurles was organised around these three key topics:

What are your hopes for AI in the future?

• What are your biggest concerns about AI?
• What ideas do you have for making AI more age-friendly?

Have a look here at the main discussion points:

Embracing the Potential of AI

• AI has the potential to support people in their daily lives, e.g. automating household tasks.
• AI should be used to improve medical treatment and give people more personalised help.
• There is a hope that AI will make technology easier for everyone to use because it can change and adjust to individual needs, e.g. adaptable font sizes.
  

Concerns

• Privacy concerns: that AI might intrude on our personal lives and we would lose control over our personal information (data).
• As more things are done automatically by AI, there is a concern that we might have fewer chances to interact with people face-to-face.
• Participants also expressed concerns about relying too much on technology and the potential to spread false information through AI.

 Ideas for Making AI More Age-Friendly:

• Participants mentioned that it is important to explain what AI is in simple terms and to provide education through helpful courses and workshops.
• It is important to have other options besides AI, so that you can choose if you want to use the technology or not.
• Providing an easy way to “turn AI on/off” would provide users with more control over how they interact with the technology.
• Developing AI tools with a simpler and more flexible design can make AI more accessible for all.

The engaging discussion in Thurles provided a platform for the voices of older adults regarding AI. The event highlighted the importance of having an engaged discussion around the topic and hearing the opinions of all to shape the future development and use of AI.