Key to this is fears around privacy and online safety. Almost half of those surveyed felt online safety and privacy affected their ability to benefit from technology. <\/p>\n
The survey may only have been of a representative sample of 1,000 people, but it highlighted a problem for the Government, which is increasingly turning to digital services.<\/p>\n
The reaction to the pilot of the Government\u2019s digital wallet, which is intended to ease access to public services, showed the mixed feelings people have. <\/p>\n
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From kitchen counter to supermarket shelves, the rise of Ballymaloe Foods<\/p>\n
The people who would most benefit from this technology, the ones who are engaging with healthcare systems, government departments and services, are the ones that are faltering in confidence. And how can you persuade people to engage with something they can\u2019t trust? <\/p>\n
Vodafone Foundation has its own solution here, with its Hi Digital initiative aimed at bringing digital skills and online safety training to older adults, and digital wellbeing and online safety app Tozi for younger people. But the problem needs wider co-operation to deal with it effectively. <\/p>\n
There are many reasons people don\u2019t feel comfortable with technology. There is creep factor, with devices that are intended to gather your data for commercial purposes or worse. <\/p>\n
The pace of technology is too fast for others. You get the distinct impression that some tech companies would like it to move faster, unencumbered by the leash of regulation. Publicly calling for guardrails, but lobbying against them behind the scenes. They want regulation, but not that much, thanks very much. <\/p>\n
Then there is the frustrating nature of some of the tech we are being told will make our lives easier. This month Microsoft<\/a> changed one of its most pervasive \u2013 and irritating, in my opinion \u2013 features. Text predictions, those not-so-helpful suggestions that pop up in Word and Outlook when you are trying to type, will no longer be enabled by default. <\/p>\n It was a feature that was intended to be helpful, but like so many others created by Big Tech, for some it has become a hindrance, inserting random words as you typed. It was also the first one to go as soon as I figured out how to turn it off \u2013 along with the \u201cfocus\u201d email inbox, also a Microsoft creation that never needed to be created. <\/p>\n Both used machine learning \u2013 a subset of artificial intelligence<\/a> (AI) that detects and uses patterns \u2013 to decide what was relevant to me. However, what the technology felt was relevant and what was actually important to me were two different things. And so these features were switched off. <\/p>\n But that isn\u2019t an option for everything. AI is becoming increasingly embedded in our lives, whether we realise it or not. The same Vodafone survey found more than half of adults surveyed used AI daily or weekly. Among those aged 65 and over, it fell to 22 per cent. Forty-three per cent said they never used AI. <\/p>\n But I would feel safe in betting that the number who never use AI is much lower than they realise. Navigation apps, video streaming service recommendations, weather apps, even online shopping are all using the technology in some form. <\/p>\n