This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: As artificial intelligence tools become increasingly embedded in work, government and everyday life, new research from UAlbany's Center for Technology in Government (CTG) suggests public libraries can play an important role in helping communities develop the skills to critically evaluate the technology, understand its risks and participate in decisions about how it is used. The study, "Who Participates in AI Programs at Public Libraries?
Exploring Demographic and Attitudinal Factors," was presented at the 18th International Federation for Information Processing Working Group 8.5 International Conference on Electronic Participation, or ePart 2026, held in Athens, Greece. The paper, authored by Zong-Xian (Sam) Huang, J. Ramon Gil-Garcia and Mila Gascó-Hernandez, was published in the conference proceedings.
The research examines not only who participates in AI-related programs at public libraries but also how participants' perceptions of AI's benefits and risks relate to their likelihood of taking part. Drawing on a January survey of 2,010 U.S. adults, the CTG researchers found significant differences in participation based on age, gender, education and income. Compared with respondents ages 18 to 34, those 55 and older had a 32.1-percentage-point lower probability of participating in library AI programs.
Women were 9.8 percentage points less likely than men to participate. Education and income were also associated with participation. Respondents with at least a four-year college degree were 7.1 percentage points more likely to participate than those without one, while respondents from households earning more than $100,000 annually were 9.4 percentage points more likely to participate than those earning less than $50,000.
Another notable finding concerned race. Nonwhite respondents had a 10.4-percentage-point higher probability of participation than white respondents, a result the researchers said warrants further study. "What stood out to us is that participation is not evenly distributed.
Some of the groups that may face greater barriers to engaging with new technologies are also less likely to take part in the AI-related programs offered by public libraries," said Huang, a Ph.D. candidate in UAlbany's Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy and graduate research assistant at CTG. "Public libraries can provide an inclusive, accessible setting where people can expand their knowledge, ask questions and become more confident navigating a rapidly changing digital world." The implications extend beyond who attends a particular library program. If participation in AI education is uneven, the researchers argue, opportunities to develop the knowledge needed to engage in broader civic discussions and decisions about AI could become uneven as well.
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