Ottawa Responsible AI Hub Equipped Seniors to Navigate AI with Confidence
Through accessible, plain-language learning, ORAH’s AI for All: Empowering Seniors program helped older adults recognize AI-enabled scams, protect their personal information, and think critically about fairness and bias in automated systems.
This past summer, the Ottawa Responsible AI Hub (ORAH) helped older adults do something many assume is beyond them: understand artificial intelligence, recognize digital risks, and use emerging technologies safely and confidently. Through AI for All: Empowering Seniors, a free, hands-on program hosted at the Rideau-Rockcliffe Community Resource Centre (RRCRC), Ottawa seniors learned to navigate a technology now woven into how they bank, communicate, and access essential services.
As AI becomes part of everyday life, many seniors face it with little guidance. Deepfakes, online scams, misinformation, and privacy risks can make an already fast-moving landscape harder to navigate. The program responded with accessible, plain-language learning that helped participants understand what AI is, where they encounter it, and how to recognize AI-enabled scams, protect their personal information, and think critically about fairness and bias in automated systems.
Designed specifically for older adults, the sessions used patient facilitation, accessible materials, and practical activities in a supportive, judgment-free environment. The program built on ORAH's earlier eight-week pilot at Abbotsford House at the Glebe Centre, which gave seniors their first hands-on opportunity to explore AI and build confidence.
“No one should feel left behind by technology because of their age,” said Dr. Somto Mbelu, Founder and Program Lead at ORAH. “AI is already shaping how people bank, access information, and use essential services. This program gives seniors the knowledge and confidence to engage with these tools safely, critically, and on their own terms.”
“Having worked in Responsible AI and diversity, equity, and inclusion for several years, seniors as a group are not included in the conversations or training about AI. ORAH has changed that,” said Tina Crouse, Program Facilitator.
“The speed at which AI is being introduced into society at large can feel disorienting,” said Luc Lalande, Innovator-in-Residence at the RRCRC. “We are grateful to ORAH for designing and delivering a program that is timely, relevant, and accessible for all.”
“Understanding AI shouldn't depend on how comfortable someone already is with technology," said Erioluwa Oladirin, Knowledge Management and Learning Lead at ORAH. “That is why we wrote every section of this program in plain language, because clarity is what makes AI literacy truly accessible.”
The initiative also supported intergenerational learning, creating opportunities for seniors and younger volunteers to exchange knowledge and strengthen community connections. It reflects ORAH's commitment to making responsible, inclusive AI education accessible to everyone, not only technology professionals and businesses.
AI for All: Empowering Seniors was funded by the Government of Canada's New Horizons for Seniors Program.
About the Rideau-Rockcliffe Community Resource Centre
The Rideau-Rockcliffe Community Resource Centre (RRCRC) is one of thirteen community resource centres in the Ottawa region that offers a range of social supports and services enabling the empowerment of local residents, community resilience, and the inclusion of all.
About the Ottawa Responsible AI Hub
The Ottawa Responsible AI Hub is a nonprofit dedicated to advancing responsible, accountable, and inclusive AI through research, public education, policy engagement, and community programming. Community members interested in future sessions may contact ORAH at hello@responsibleaiottawa.ca
Media Contact: partnerships@responsibleaiottawa.ca