Online safety is no longer just about avoiding bad links and using strong passwords. As generative artificial intelligence (AI) becomes part of everyday life, people must also learn to recognize persuasive AI-generated content, deepfakes, and other increasingly convincing forms of digital deception.
Traditional digital safety focused on multi-factor authentication, lock icons in URLs, and avoiding questionable attachments. Generative AI has expanded those risks by producing persuasive responses, cloned voices, synthetic reviews, and other content designed to appear trustworthy even when it is false. The greatest vulnerability is no longer clicking the wrong link but trusting the wrong answer.
Older adults may be especially vulnerable to those risks. According to Tony Krueck, SVP of Cox Mobile at Cox Communications, company research found that 42% of seniors who use generative AI rely on it primarily as a learning tool. "AI literacy is quickly becoming a core pillar of online safety," he told TechNewsWorld.
Research Highlights Growing AI Safety Risks
AI use beyond the workplace is now commonplace. More than half of seniors (53%) say they use AI, and 42% rely on it to learn new things or solve practical problems.
