Empowering Adults with AI Literacy: Using Short Videos to Transform Understanding and Harness Fear for Critical Thinking

Despite the importance of AI literacy for both children and adults, adults have been understudied. We developed short videos for adults that provided training on the basics of AI understanding, use, and evaluation. In an online experiment, 94 adults aged 30-49 were randomly assigned in a 1:2 ratio to view either short videos on AI history (control group) or AI literacy training videos (treatment group). The results showed that the intervention significantly improved people’s self-efficacy of AI use but not in AI understanding or evaluation. Interestingly, participants’ fears of AI bias, privacy violations, and job replacement increased after the training, although they remained below the midpoints. We argue that the heightened fear in the treatment group reflects a foundation for critical thinking skills, as it moves them closer to a more calibrated, moderate level of fear. Therefore, this study uniquely contributes by utilizing short-form experiential content to both educate and foster a more informed, critical interaction with AI technologies. The implications of designing AI literacy educational materials for adults were discussed.