With a $60 deposit and $15,000 in debt, Lewis is actively learning fast strategies and establishing a high-tech company. He wants to use AI to bring great ends to his life. Scalettar, who is nearly 80, taught her 96-year-old husband to use AI for his editing. AI is opening up a new world for many of its American seniors. They are more open to using AI than many young people and are better.
He has a deposit of $60 and owes $15,000.
Luis Bautista, 82, still has to work hard to retire.
The high-tech company he founded and his enthusiasm for learning AI have driven him forward.
He learns rapid engineering strategies by surfing the internet and watching YouTube.
Additionally, he also looks at information on companies recognized by the Y Combinator to find venture capital for his startup.
All of this comes from the “epiphany” he had when he was 80 years old.
A new world opened by AI
When he was 80, Luis Bautista asked himself:
How should I end my life?
At the time, this sentence came to his mind:
“To achieve a great outcome, you have to learn AI.”
Of course, this is not for the final ideal of his life.
His savings are under $100, and his monthly social security income of $1,000 is not enough to achieve his goal!
To survive, he needs to make money for retirement by life coach, business consultant, writing books.
He cannot afford AI courses, so he learns through free online resources and asking people around him.
The high-tech company he co-founded is now his biggest hope.
He believes that if the company can develop, there will be a period of prosperity.
Luis Bautista is the co-founder of a tech startup that deeply embraces AI.
Bautista is no exception.
Many American seniors like him have actively studied AI, plan their own lives, apply for jobs, and return to work.
AI has opened a new world for them.
Is it convenient for seniors to learn AI?
Business Insider recently interviewed more than 130 working seniors in the United States, ages 80 to 90.
Many of the older people surveyed said they have never tried AI and believe it is unnecessary to suspect it will harm them or suspect them.
The main concerns of opponents are:
I'm worried that AI will cause mental decline. The 94-year-old worker believes that AI will deprive more people of their ability to think.
I'm worried that AI will replace my job. COCTOENARIAR is worried that AI will replace the work of older people who don't trust it.
Are worried about AI scams: Some people worry that the misinformation generated will be more likely to be fooled.
Over 40 people said they are actively embracing AI and using it for work and daily tasks. Most people use the free version of ChatGPT, and some have tried Claude and Gemini.
Furthermore, “advanced” seniors see AI as a productivity tool. They took machine learning courses or integrated some AI models into their work process.
The main motivation for these active AI employers to learn AI is to stay competitive in the workplace. Others hope to increase their income through it to enjoy their retirement life.
Some people are forced to use AI in the workplace.
For example, Herbert Dwy, the 84-year-old chief technology officer at an aerospace technology company, knows more about AI than most seniors.
But the reason he uses AI is that some of the software he uses depends on AI, so he doesn't delve into detailed applications such as rapid engineering.
So he considers himself an “outsider” when using AI.
Unlike Dwye, Phyllis Scalettar chose to have an “all-in” attitude towards AI.
Scaletta soon completed his 80-year-old Ph.D.
She runs the AI Education and Consulting Company, where clients (including seniors) help improve their work processes, performance and productivity.
Phyllis Scalettar runs an AI consulting company.
By adopting AI, Scalettar can find the lifestyle she wants, and this all excites her.
More importantly, AI technology offers a new stage for Scaletta's long-standing life experience to demonstrate its value.
She transforms her early career experience into business skills for the company she currently runs.
In 2023, after completing several AI courses, including machine learning, Scaletta became a certified AI consultant.
She believes older employees should not be afraid of new technology. Technological innovation like when cars first appeared will scare people.
Catherine Collinson, CEO and Chair of the Transamerica Institute, believes that older Americans could be at the forefront of AI implementation.
They have all witnessed major technological advances since the mid-20th century. When they first entered the workplace, early computers had just appeared.
This is a labor group with 80 years of life experience and over 50 years of practical experience.
Like Scaletta, their life and work experiences may also play a unique role in the AI era.
AI has a big impact on older employees
Though many studies believe that AI is likely to replace several entry-level positions and is likely to have the greatest impact on newly graduated college students.
However, a survey published in July by IMF economists Carlo Pizzinelli and Marina Mendes Tavares believe that older employees may be more affected by AI than younger colleagues.
This is because they have lower mobility among employers or occupations and fewer opportunities for reemployment.
Another drawback is that they may employ AI at a slower pace than younger people.
Lack of training is part of the reason.
Research shows that older employees are more likely to encounter occupational bias in terms of AI literacy.
A 2024 generational survey found:
13% of employees over the age of 45 use AI tools generated at work. Most of them learned on their own and improved both productivity and quality of work.
Among those who do not use AI, 24% said they were interested in learning.
These older employees show a high level of acceptance of AI, but American employment managers have not shown to fully accept them.
Only 7% of employment managers say candidates over the age of 65 are “very likely” for jobs that use AI tools frequently. For applicants aged 25-34, this percentage is 57%.
More than half of hiring managers say it is “impossible” or “completely unlikely” to consider applicants over the age of 65.
Generation CEO Mona Mourshed realized that many older employees must continue to work for financial vulnerabilities.
However, once they reach age 45 or older, the degree of professional bias they encounter increases dramatically.
Scalettar's experience is a positive and powerful counterattack against this “professional bias.”
She is an active “preacher” in AI technology.
Not only did she teach her 96-year-old husband how to use AI tools as a research assistant and book editor, she also developed rapid engineering training materials and ways to collaborate with AI assistants.
She believes that as a gift she gives, she shares her experiences with others how to expand her horizons and develop her potential through AI.
80-year-old AI student
AI is integrated into our world.
Therefore, courses relating to AI courses are also rapidly increasing. For example, courses on the basics of AI, identifying AI misinformation, career development, and more.
Seniors are becoming a larger group of AI courses.
Marisa Giorg, course development supervisor for seniors technology services, said seniors are always keen on more resources to improve AI literacy.
Therefore, we offer some basic AI courses, including content such as “How to write social media posts using AI”.
Jorg believes that at every stage and moment of life, we should not cease learning or lose curiosity.
Approximately 20 students over the age of 60 participated in the basic AI course site.
For example, in New York in August, around 20 students over the age of 60 learned how to use AI tools such as ChatGpt, Gemini and Microsoft Copilot in the “Introducing Chat with AI” course.
The four students said they hope to use AI to apply for jobs, find new places to live, and engage in artistic creation.
Margaret Sass teaches AI courses for seniors at Boise State University. She believes that most students use things they have learned for personal issues, such as travel planning, and some will actively use them in the workplace.
In SASS's view, learning AI can help older people improve their creativity. This is beneficial for mental health.
Currently, SASS focuses on how to create songs for seniors and do virtual hikes with the help of AI that can be done at home.
The key to making a living
For many older American workers, AI has become the “key” to earning a living.
For example, 83-year-old Catherine Kavanaugh is learning how to apply AI to the consulting company she founded. She uses confusion and deep seeking orders at work.
The company, founded by Cavanaugh, will bid for course design contracts with hospitals and universities. She found that AI is extremely useful in preparing lessons and providing research suggestions for student papers.
Cavanaugh said his annual income is around $42,000 and his net worth is less than $100,000. Her financial situation is currently very severe due to her short-term contract and unemployment during her mid-career.
Many older Americans, like Cavanaugh, have obtained relevant certifications through AI.
AI has lowered the thresholds in many traditional technology industries, creating more employment opportunities for older people.
Steve Preston, CEO of Goodwill Industries International, believes that AI can help older people easily cross the thresholds of many traditional technology and start working in some jobs.
Take Jacqueline Steubel, who lives in Tennessee, for example. At 81, she has raised four children, and was previously a text editor for a newspaper.
Two years ago, she found work as a consultant on psychopharmacy and alcoholism issues.
According to Steubbel, she has seen several videos that teach her how to use ChatGpt and other tools at work. So she also learned how to use AI to search patient history and edit the text of her non-fiction manuscript.
Countless seniors, like Luis Bautista and Phyllis Scalettar, face the influence and baptism of AI, embracing technology originally belonging to the “future.”
AI has opened a new world for them and confirmed this truth.
Innovation and progress do not stagnate or decline due to age.
References:
https://www.businessinsider.com/workers-over-age-80-embrace-ai-2025-8
This article is from the WeChat Public account, “New Intelligence Yuan.” Author: Editor's New Intelligence Yuan: Yuan Yu. Reissue by 36kr with permission.
