| Sumario: | Purpose Artificial intelligence is currently one of the hottest topics in technology discussions (e.g., Sundar, 2020) with technology panics (e.g. Orben, 2020) in the media and the general public sometimes obscuring a rational debate about benefits and dangers (e.g., Stone et al., 2016). Against this broader societal context, the present paper presents a theoretical framework of human-technology interaction from an ageing and gender perspective. In this framework, I will argue that cognitive and affective components act differently during different stages of technology diffusion. Against the background of this theoretical framework, I will present a newly developed questionnaire on cognitive and affective attitudes about artificial intelligence and respective results from both younger and older adults. Method The questionnaire "Attitudes about artificial intelligence (A-AI) measures both cognitive and affective attitude components. The questionnaire consists of two scales, i.e., hopes and fears about AI. Reliability (internal consistency, split-half) was moderate to high. Both younger (18-30 years) and older adults (>60 years) were asked about their attitudes on artificial intelligence. Results and discussion Results demonstrated that artificial intelligence, on the one hand, was conceptualized as being able to save lives, to foster knowledge, to improve science and to foster ecological behavior, among others. On the other hand, subjects feared that artificial intelligence will steal jobs, impact data privacy, and leads to constant surveillance of the individual, among others. These findings vary with age and gender. Results are discussed against the background of the theoretical framework on human-technology interaction.
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