[시론] Artificial intelligence education for rural seniors

Everyone, regardless of age, wants to continuously improve the convenience and wisdom of life. Older people in rural areas also desire opportunities and motivation to learn and use new skills. These demands are clearly revealed through the smartphones that are already tightly held in their hands.

As older people enter old age, their social relationships naturally decrease, and they experience a corresponding decrease in learning opportunities and motivation. However, satisfaction remains an important need even in old age. Therefore, it is said that as long as the learning content is meaningful and motivation is sufficient, learning ability remains almost the same regardless of age. Under these conditions, the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology is a very significant social change that provides an excellent opportunity to rekindle the learning motivation of elderly people in rural areas.

The AI ​​era can be summarized as the advancement of information perception and processing capabilities, and AI has changed ‘mathematics’ from ‘accuracy of calculation’ to ‘mathematical design ability’. Rather than simply solving mathematical problems quickly and accurately, we live in an era where real-world problems are designed using mathematical methodology and the complex calculations that follow are accurately processed by AI.

The point of dramatic change in the times is the ability to utilize AI, and it is believed that providing the first experience to improve ‘AI accessibility‘ is a very important link in changing the elderly so that they can actively utilize AI.

As Nonghyup provides a variety of education to elderly people in rural areas, it can provide practical training based on its experience of ‘using AI for the elderly.’ This is because, as an important educational institution in the community, Nonghyup has the power to provide educational opportunities for seniors to naturally encounter new technologies such as AI.

For example, through the ‘Life Wisdom Class’ (tentative name), Nonghyup can help senior citizens solve practical problems in their daily lives by using AI apps, starting with installing AI applications (apps) on their smartphones. In addition, by teaching how to solve realistic problems such as creating a household account book, calculating product prices, and predicting agricultural product sales through AI, seniors can experience the direct benefits of using AI in their daily lives and increase motivation for continuous AI access.

As the number of seniors who become familiar with smartphones and AI usage increases, more seniors will interact and easily adapt to the digital age. Through this process, Nonghyup will become a hub for distribution, finance, and information education in the local community, greatly strengthening its positive image of contributing to the economy and education, and further expanding its role.

Large retailers such as E-Mart are still at an extremely commercial level of education that allows seniors to use their online channels or apps. Nonghyup can create a new customer experience that goes beyond this, provide practical and useful services to loyal seniors in rural areas, and at the same time firmly establish the image of a good company that fulfills its social responsibilities.

Suncheon Agricultural Cooperative in Jeollanam-do has already conducted an ‘AI-based senior care program’ for 187 members aged 55 or older in 2022, using AI to improve health management and convenience of living for the elderly, with a satisfaction rating of over 60%. If Suncheon Agricultural Cooperative’s experience is distributed and reorganized into a practical form that takes convenience and excellence into consideration, it will be a great marketing strategy that leads to sustainable growth in line with the AI ​​era.

Seungwoo Lee, representative attorney at Beopseung Law Firm