Australians who speak a language other than English at home are embracing Generative AI tools, according to a new study.
Distinguished Professor Julian Thomas, from RMIT University, said the latest Australian Digital Inclusion Index has found almost half of Australians (46 percent) recently used GenAI, raising new opportunities and challenges for digital inclusion.
Professor Thomas said 59 percent of Australians who spoke a language other than English has used Gen AI, compared to 41 percent of English-only speakers, likely due to advances in AI-powered translation.
He said about a third of people with disability had used GenAI, with strong use of these technologies among this group for entertainment and advice.
“GenAI has the potential to deliver significant benefits for everyone, but its impact will be greatest if it’s implemented fairly and no one is left behind in the digital transformation.”
Professor Thomas said, overall, usage was usage was highest among students, with 79 percent reporting recent use, while 69 percent of Aussies aged 18 to 34 had also engaged with GenAI.
He said the most common uses for GenAI were generating text, creating images and creating programming code.
