Digital Divide, Citizens’ use of Artificial Intelligence, and Cybersecurity

• In Event: Artificial Intelligence and Smart Policymaking in South Korea

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of contactless services, with technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality, and augmented reality significantly reshaping daily life. However, these advancements have also intensified privacy and security concerns among users, who face unprecedented challenges in understanding the operation of complex algorithms in these technologies. While governments increasingly leverage these innovations for public service delivery, citizens’ reluctance to adopt them may hinder effective public management. Although the disproportionate impact of utilizing technology innovations on under-resourced and underrepresented communities has been widely recognized, how digital divide shapes the influence of AI security concerns on intentions to use AI remains underexplored. Utilizing data from the 2023 Digital Information Gap Survey by the National Information Society Agency in South Korea, this study contributes to the literature on digital governance, public service delivery, and civic engagement by examining the extent to which privacy concerns over AI differentially impact perceptions of AI use across marginalized and non-marginalized populations.

Authors

• DaSol Lee, Sungkyunkwan University
  Non-Presenting Co-Author

• Jeongmin Oh, University of Cincinnati
  Presenting Author