Over-70s are the least positive about AI but are more willing than any other age group to trust it with medical diagnoses and treatment decisions.
This is according to Office for National Statistics data analysed by performance marketing agency GROFU.
According to the data, only 17 per cent of over-70s believe AI will benefit them, but 27 per cent would trust it with medical diagnoses and treatment decisions. This is compared with 12 per cent of 16- to 29-year-olds.
But trust in AI for customer service falls from 31 per cent among under-30s to 15 per cent among over-70s.
Additionally, older people are less worried about AI reducing their access to in-person healthcare, with around 35 per cent of over-70s anxious about this, compared with around 45 per cent of people aged 30 to 69.
The data also highlights concerns among disabled adults who are as willing as non-disabled adults to trust AI with a medical diagnosis, at 20 per cent compared with 19 per cent. They are also more likely to believe it could improve access to healthcare, at 21 per cent compared with 18 per cent.
But 47 per cent of disabled adults fear AI could reduce their access to in-person care, compared with 38 per cent of non-disabled adults.
GROFU managing director Patrick McFadden says: “Our health is among one of the most important things to consider as we age, so it’s interesting that healthcare and medicine is the anomaly within AI that older generations are willing to embrace.
“Many AI companies across Britain have spent years highlighting what the technology can do in the healthcare space, and this is the first real evidence of what patients are willing to actually accept. And, in reality, it’s the opposite of what most people will have assumed.
“The group that has the most to lose from getting this wrong is the group most willing to let it happen.”
“People aren’t nervous about the diagnosis. They’re nervous about waiting too long for the diagnosis. Older people understand the urgency of catching something early, and our view is that’s why they’ll accept AI here. The benefit is obvious and it arrives quickly.
“Customer service is the opposite. The jury is still out on whether AI gets you to your outcome any faster, and people can tell.
“There’s a lesson here well beyond healthcare. People accept new technology when it adds something and refuse it when it takes something away, and they can tell the difference immediately.
“Every organisation rolling out AI should look at these numbers, because the public are getting better at spotting what is a service improvement and what is a cost-cutting exercise at their expense.”
