Faculty members of the Department of Sociology at the Faculty of Croatian Studies, University of Zagreb, participated on 24 and 25 September 2026 in the international research workshop AI and the Future: Challenges, Perspectives, Research Opportunities, held at IEDC – Bled School of Management in Slovenia. In two talks they presented analyses produced within the project ‘Dimensions of Digital Inclusion and Exclusion in Croatian Society’ (DIGI-HR).
Assistant Professor Erik Brezovec, PhD, delivered a talk, co-authored with Katarina Jelić from the Department of Psychology, AI use and digital vulnerability: Perceived independence, participation and social well-being. The authors consider how the use of artificial intelligence can be connected to questions of digital vulnerability, opportunities for participation in society and social well-being. Their analysis is based on data from a survey conducted on a sample of 1,083 adults in Croatia. According to the results presented, 44.3% of respondents stated that they use generative AI for text creation in everyday life, with use significantly more common among younger age groups.
The talk also opened the question of what it means to be independent of digital tools. Assistant Professor Brezovec warned that a sense of independence alone does not show whether a person has equal opportunities to access information, services and social participation. Digital vulnerability should therefore be viewed in the context of material conditions, available skills and real opportunities for participation.
Assistant Professor Marija Zelić, PhD, delivered the talk Who uses AI? Age differences in access, confidence, affordability, and use, co-authored with Assistant Professor Ana Marija Dunaj, PhD. Based on DIGI-HR project data, they analysed how age and education are associated with the use of AI tools and how age groups differ in access to devices, the ability to afford them and self-assessment of one's own digital skills.
The results show that the use of AI for text creation is most common among younger age groups. At the same time, a lower usage rate among older people does not mean that older people who already use these tools lack confidence in their abilities. Zelić emphasised that understanding digital inclusion requires distinguishing between access to technology, skills and actual use. Differences in social well-being between users and non-users of AI cannot be attributed to the use of these tools alone.
The workshop brought together researchers from several countries to discuss social and professional changes related to artificial intelligence and to develop new research questions and opportunities for collaboration.