Ylipulli J. and Eskola R. (2023, May): “Artificial Intelligence is a Cold Thing”: Understanding Experiences of Older Citizens to Design Municipal Digital Support Services. Workshop on Designing the City: Challenges and Opportunities in Public Service Design, Communities and Technologies (C&T) Conference, May 29–June 02, 2023, Lahti, Finland.
Abstract
We present a case study that sheds light on how older citizens living in large cities of Espoo and Vantaa in Finland’s capital region experience digital technologies in their everyday lives, especially when using public digital services. The goal is to utilize the knowledge in the design of public digital support services. The study is based on 14 semi-structured theme interviews conducted with older people over 65 years old, three interviews carried out with individuals giving digital support, and fieldnotes, inspired by ethnographic approach. The interviews with elderly included visual aids that assisted in remembering experiences with different services; they were also used as prompts to spur discussion on contemporary technological phenomena. The preliminary results indicate that digital competencies of older citizens can be described as fragmented; for example, they held highly critical views towards data collection but at the same time, lacked some basic technical skills. The support should be designed to consider some special needs of elderly but also their varying competencies and needs; further, increasing understanding on broader technological phenomena should be incorporated in the digital support to enhance the digital agency of the older citizens.
More information
Old citizener’ digital skills may not be consistent; while they express strong concerns about data collection, they also lack some fundamental technical skills. Digital support should be designed to consider the elderly needs of. Broader understanding of technological phenomena in general should be increased to enhance the digital agency of the older citizens.
In this paper, Trust M researcher Johanna Ylipulli together with Riikka Eskola explore how older people use technology to help design better digital support services for them. For the study, the researchers did 14 interviewees with people over aged 65 and three people who help with technology. The study has been conducted as a part of DISC project (Digital Inequalities in Smart Cities, AoF grant no 332143), but it is contributing to topics relevant for Trust-M.