In the age of AI, every age counts

Will AI help dismantle ageism or will it further entrench ageism in systems that increasingly shape our lives?

Much of the public debate around AI is focused on regulation, jobs, data centres and existential risk. No one is asking what millions of older Australians would love to know: How can AI improve our lives and will it make ageism better or worse?

9 October is Ageism Awareness Day. To help kickstart a national conversation about AI and Ageism, advocacy group EveryAGE Counts worked with a team of academics from the University of the Sunshine Coast on a survey of more than 1,300 Australians aged 60–85, exploring their use of AI, attitudes towards it and what they need to participate confidently in an emerging AI-enabled world.

As expected, overall usage is lower than among younger Australians — though not by as much as stereotypes might have you believe. Among those who do regularly use AI, 85% describe it as helpful – hardly a generation of bewildered technophobes!

Like people of every age, older Australians have concerns about trust, confidence and privacy. At the same time, the study also points to an audience both willing and able to learn more, particularly if targeted training and support is available.

Far from widening digital exclusion, AI can promote digital inclusion. Natural-language interfaces mean older Australians can research information on financial planning issues or medical concerns. They can retrain for a changing workforce, pursue new interests, plan travel, navigate complex services and, for the isolated, feel more connected to the world.

The opportunities are many, but so are the risks. AI learns from vast bodies of human-generated information — our culture, media, literature, workplaces, advertising, institutions and online behaviour. AIs absorb not only our knowledge but also our prejudices and biases, and ageism remains deeply embedded in Australian society – our last accepted prejudice.

Ask an AI model to visualise an entrepreneur, a tennis player, someone changing careers, falling in love or travelling the world. What ages will AI assume based on everything it’s learnt from? These may seem trivial examples but the same assumptions are at play when AI is used in recruitment, financial services, healthcare, customer service and education.

As AI becomes embedded in everyday life, excluding older Australians from conversations about our AI future is emblematic of the very prejudice we need to be challenging - ignoring millions of Australian consumers, workers, business owners, carers, volunteers and citizens who have much to gain from the technology and much to contribute to Australian society.

The choices being made now — about design, training, access, representation and safeguards — will help determine which path we take.

Alongside the rest of the world, Australia is entering the age of AI.

In the 2026 Intergenerational Report (IGR), Treasurer Jim Chalmers describes AI as “the biggest economic transformation of our lifetime”. The IGR notes that AI will underpin productivity gains and reshape work, but that the benefits come with serious risks, including misinformation, scams, market concentration and lowered barriers to harmful activity.

What is not noted in this report is the danger of learned, enhanced ageism.

EAC calls upon the Federal Government to mandate age-bias, stereotyping, and discrimination testing for all artificial intelligence systems to ensure age-fair AI that respects and includes all generations.

Because in the age of AI, every age counts.

Board, EveryAGE Counts

For comment, interviews or questions please contact EAC Board Member Kaye Fallick 0407 834 221