Digital Inequality in AI Governance: Inclusive Pathways for Aging Populations

Abstract

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence governance frameworks at the national and international levels has generally lacked any substantive involvement from older people; as they interact with digital technologies, their unique relationship to these systems makes them particularly vulnerable to AI-based policy decisions but also one of the groups least engaged in regulating these systems. Examines digital inequality in terms of its manifestation at the level of AI governance; analyzes the structural barriers faced by older adults in accessing AI-mediated services and participating in related governance activities; proposes an inclusiveness pathway to promote more adequate realisation of governance systems that serve the interests and dignity of ageing individuals. According to Van Dijk's multidimensional model of digital inequality, Gaventa's inclusive governance framework and the literature on seniors' technology adoption, it is argued that realising genuine inclusive AI governance requires intervention at three interrelated levels: physical access; Digital skills and AI literacy; Policy participation. Based on the data of the International Telecommunication Union, policy guidelines such as the European Union's AI Act and the World Health Organization's global strategy for ageing and health are used to provide empirical basis and regulatory references for this research's suggestions.