Exploring the Relationship Between AI Service Awareness, Usage Experience, and Life Satisfaction in the Elderly of Gyeongsangnam-do

This study examines how awareness and usage of artificial intelligence (AI) services relate to life satisfaction among older adults in a rapidly aging digital society. Drawing on the Technology Acceptance Model and Diffusion of Innovations theory, the authors analyze data from 454 adults aged 65 and over in Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea. AI awareness is measured as recognition of nine AI service types, while AI usage reflects actual experience with these services; life satisfaction is assessed with a 13-item version of the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Multiple regression results show that AI awareness has a significant positive association with life satisfaction, whereas AI usage experience has a small, non-significant negative association, with the model explaining about 10% of the variance in life satisfaction. Group comparisons further indicate that older adults with high awareness but low usage report the highest life satisfaction, while those with low awareness and high usage report the lowest. These findings suggest that for older adults, understanding and cognitively recognizing AI may matter more for well-being than simply using AI servic/es, underscoring the need for policies that emphasize awareness-building alongside practical training.