Age-Friendly AI: Ireland’s : National Artificial Intelligence Literacy Initiative

Description

This initiative will launch a nationwide conversation on artificial intelligence (AI) with older adults across Ireland, while co-developing and delivering a tailored, inclusive AI literacy programme. It aims to amplify the voices of older people, ensuring their views, concerns, and ideas are communicated to key stakeholders shaping AI research and policy—including developers, researchers, and government bodies. Over 60,000 individuals from every county will be engaged. Central to this initiative is co-creation: older adults will be involved at every stage to ensure the programme reflects their experiences, preferences, and needs. Delivered in two phases with iterative feedback loops, the project builds on the successful approach used in ADAPT’s #DiscussAI campaign, which previously reached more than 64,000 people across Ireland.
Phase 1: #DiscussAI Dialogue (2025)
This phase focusing on listening and understanding is underway and will involve four regional co-creation workshops to identify older adults’ concerns, interests, and expectations around AI. These workshops inform key themes for four broader regional “citizens’ think-ins” that in late 2025 will bring together older adults, policymakers, researchers, and industry stakeholders. These discussions will explore the impact of AI on ageing and ensure the perspectives of older people are represented in future AI development.
Broader engagement will include 5,000 older adults through local brainstorming events, an interactive online portal, and a national “AI Opinions” postcard campaign. This campaign will be promoted at high-profile events such as The 50 Plus Show and through freepost inserts in SeniorTimes magazine. Insights from all engagement activities will be compiled into an Expert Report and lay-summary materials. These documents will reflect older adults’ views on AI and offer practical recommendations for ensuring inclusive AI policy and innovation.
Based on these insights, a customised, accessible AI literacy programme will be co-developed. It will include training materials, expert-led videos, and interactive demonstration resources suitable for use in libraries and mobile exhibits. This content will form the basis of the next phase of the initiative.
Phase 2: #DiscussAI AI Literacy Roadshow (2026)
The second phase will deliver the literacy programme through a nationwide roadshow. A “train-the-trainer” approach will build capacity by delivering four online training sessions to regional volunteers. These facilitators will then integrate AI content into their outreach work, enabling wide-scale delivery across Ireland.
A total of 26 roadshow training sessions will be held in public libraries in partnership with age-friendly organisations such as Age Friendly Ireland, Age Action, and the Centre for Smart Ageing. Specially trained ambassadors from ADAPT, Insight, and partner organisations will lead the sessions.
Our external evaluation partner, Stickydot, will lead a co-evaluation process to assess the programme’s effectiveness, with metrics developed in collaboration with participants. This will evaluate knowledge gains, confidence in using AI, and improvements in researchers’ ability to engage diverse audiences.
Knowledge-sharing forums will be hosted throughout to share progress and findings with co-creation participants, policymakers, and the wider AI community. Activities will take place in accessible venues familiar to older adults, with the National Disability Authority guiding inclusive design and accessibility throughout.

Aim of Initiative

This initiative seeks to empower older adults across Ireland by involving them directly in national discussions about artificial intelligence (AI) and by co-developing an inclusive, accessible AI literacy programme. The overarching aim is to ensure that the perspectives of older people—regarding the opportunities, challenges, and personal impacts of AI—are acknowledged and incorporated into AI research, policy, and development and that they as well as equipping them with knowledge to engage with AI-driven technology confidently.
A central goal is to give older adults a meaningful voice in shaping Ireland’s AI landscape through a two-phase, co-creation-based approach. The goal of phase 1 of the initiative will be to facilitate dialogue by hosting regional co-creation workshops and “citizens’ think-ins,” where older people, researchers, and policymakers will collaboratively explore age-specific concerns about AI. Broader outreach activities—including community brainstorms, an online engagement portal, and a national postcard campaign—will further expand participation and gather diverse input. Insights from this phase will inform an expert report and the design of the literacy programme.
In Phase 2, a national AI literacy roadshow will deliver this co-created programme through library-based sessions and community-led initiatives, supported by trained facilitators. The goal is to build capacity within communities and promote understanding of AI among older adults.
A robust, participant-led evaluation strategy will assess learning outcomes and stakeholder engagement. All activities will be designed for accessibility and inclusion, with support from the National Disability Authority, ensuring older adults can participate fully and equitably throughout the initiative.

Who is it aimed at

Older adults, community service groups, industry partners, academics

3 Steps critical to success

1. 1. Deep and Ongoing Co-Creation with Older Adults
   Ensuring that older adults are meaningfully involved from the outset—and at every stage—is vital. This means not only consulting them, but actively partnering with them in designing content, shaping engagement methods, and evaluating outcomes. Genuine co-creation builds trust, relevance, and ownership, ensuring the AI literacy programme is tailored to the needs, preferences, and concerns of this demographic.
2. 2. Building a Scalable, Accessible Delivery Network
   To reach a national audience, the project must establish a strong network of trained facilitators, age-friendly partner organisations, industry and academic partners. Using a train-the-trainer model, combined with accessible, inclusive materials, will ensure the literacy programme can be delivered widely and effectively. Partnering with local libraries, community centres, and age-friendly groups will maximise reach and ensure the initiative is embedded in familiar, trusted spaces.
3. 3. Robust, Participatory Evaluation and Knowledge Sharing
   A structured evaluation framework—co-designed with participants—is essential for measuring impact, learning outcomes, and inclusivity. Gathering both qualitative and quantitative feedback will guide ongoing improvements. Regular knowledge-sharing forums and transparent reporting will help translate findings into actionable insights for AI developers, researchers, and policymakers, ensuring older adults’ perspectives shape future AI developments.

3 Challenges in Planning / Delivery

1. 1. Digital Literacy and Accessibility Barriers
   Many older adults may have limited experience with digital technologies, which could affect their ability and/or confidence to engage with even the dialogue phase and AI-related concepts or online tools in general. Overcoming this will require sympathetic communication and designing highly accessible materials, offering in-person support, and ensuring content is delivered in familiar, low-pressure environments such as libraries and community centres.
2. 2. Reaching and Engaging a Diverse, National Audience
   Ensuring participation from older adults across many counties—especially those in rural, marginalised, or isolated communities—poses a logistical challenge. The project will need strong partnerships with local organisations, flexible delivery methods, and proactive outreach strategies to ensure broad and equitable engagement.
3. 3. Translating Dialogue into Policy and Practice
   While collecting insights from older adults is vital, ensuring these perspectives influence real-world AI policy and technical development can be difficult. The project must invest in strong stakeholder engagement, timely dissemination of findings, and the strategic positioning of its Expert Report to ensure uptake by policymakers, developers, and researchers.

3 Outcomes / Benefits

1. Increased AI literacy and Informed Advocacy & Participation among older adults:
   The project will result in a significant increase in AI awareness and understanding among older adults across Ireland. Through accessible, co-designed literacy resources and hands-on older adults will be better equipped to use AI-powered products and services, helping them maintain independence, for example, by using technologies for health and well-being, safety and security, online shopping and banking or AI-driven communication tools to stay connected with family and friends which can reduce isolation. AI-literate older adults can participate more effectively in discussions and decision-making about AI. They can advocate for technologies that benefit their demographic and address their specific needs.
2. Increased understanding and empathy:
   Researchers including PhD students who are the next generation of AI specialists, industry stakeholders and policymakers will have a more empathetic understanding of diverse points of view relating to AI. Insights gathered from nationwide dialogues and think-ins will be captured in an Expert Report and shared with key stakeholders, including policymakers, AI developers, and researchers. These findings will ensure that the perspectives of older people are reflected in future AI-related policies, design decisions, and research directions—supporting more ethical, inclusive technology development.
3. A National AI Literacy Model for Older Populations:
   A fully co-created, scalable AI literacy programme—developed with and for older adults—will be produced. This model, including training materials, demonstration tools, and facilitation methods, will be suitable for long-term use by libraries, community groups, and age-friendly organisations nationwide, serving as a sustainable resource beyond the project’s lifetime. We will also produce a set of guidelines for multi-stakeholder co-creation that can be adapted to engage other marginalised groups in meaningful discourse that incorporates diverse perspectives.