Can’t find shelter, apply for government help or a visa without a decent phone (Picture: Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments.
The pitfalls of technology that gatekeeps access
I agree with James (MetroTalk, Tue) about AI and the digital world leaving some people behind.
I work with homeless people and there’s no way our most vulnerable people can cope with everything being online.
Many people who are homeless will have disabilities, which may mean reading is difficult but also having a phone and internet access and keeping it when you are of no fixed abode is very hard.
Some councils in London only tell you the address of where you will sleep that night by phone or email – disregarding people who don’t have a phone or can’t use one due to domestic violence, for example.
Most councils put people on hold for hours and often when you select that you want to speak to a human, the system will tell you to go online and then hang up.
Our housing benefit, council tax and homeless applications are all online. Even the e-visa scheme needs an iPhone 7 or equivalent to download the app, an email and smart phone, to get your visa.
Biometric passes and passports don’t count anymore.
If you are a refugee sleeping rough you may not be able to keep hold of a phone or remember an email.
Technology is not always better, it is gatekeeping and the most vulnerable people fall through the ever-widening gaps. Sophie, London
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In my 70s and not tech illiterate
Not every person above 70 has a problem adapting (Credits: Getty Images/Westend61)
James says it’s his elderly parents who are left anxious by organisations’ increasing use of AI and chatbots.
I’m not sure where his parents have been the last 20 or so years since home computers were available but I think it’s a stretch too far to say people in their 70s have trouble understanding the internet.
I’m in my 70s and have been using computers at home and at work since my 40s. I was also responsible for implementing and training much younger colleagues on new software systems. All my friends are quite capable of understanding a computer.
Please stop this idea that people don’t know anything once they are over 65. Marianne Kellett, Dalmeny
Source:: Metro
