Objective With the intensification of population aging, the subjective well-being of older adults has become a topic of social concern. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence (AI) is penetrating various fields of society and transforming the living environment of older adults. However, research on the association between AI and the subjective well-being of older adults remains relatively scarce, and this study aims to explore the relationship between AI development and their subjective well-being. Methods Based on the data from the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS), this study uses a two-way fixed effects model to examine the association between AI development and the subjective well-being of older adults. For robustness checks, it employs methods including double machine learning (DML), instrumental variable approach, variable replacement, addition of control variables, and adjustment of clustering levels. Results (1) AI development is positively correlated with the subjective well-being of older adults. (2) Older adults’ use of elderly care services and their social participation are the channels through which AI development is associated with improved subjective well-being among older adults. (3) The digital literacy of older adults plays a positive moderating role. (4) The positive association between AI development and subjective well-being is significantly larger in magnitude for the old-old group than for the young-old group. Conclusion This study provides robust empirical evidence for a positive association between AI development and the subjective well-being of older adults. Based on this, efforts should be made to promote the in-depth integration of AI with elderly care services, expand AI-enabled channels for social participation, launch initiatives to improve older adults’ digital literacy, and refine policy safeguards for AI-assisted elderly support.
Jin et al. (Sun,) studied this question.