by Michael S. James, Contributing Writer
The stereotype you’ve heard about older job candidates and technology is a lie: It suggests they resist change, when, in reality, they put as much of a premium on staying current with AI and other technology as many younger applicants do, according to the brand-new CWI Works Longevity Outlook
This new survey data shows 87% of employees aged 55 and older who have used AI for work are comfortable using it, and 49% report they are very or extremely comfortable doing so. Among those unemployed and seeking work, workers 55 and older say they desire opportunities to update their skills at a similar rate to their 18- to 34-year-old colleagues.
CWI Works, a partner of CWI Labs, wants to shift the national conversation on the interplay of aging and employment, and the data in its Outlook, conducted by Ipsos and supported by T-Mobile, helps tell a more truthful story than the stereotypes do. It is a story about the importance of rethinking assumptions about the abilities of older workers, and why they should be embraced in the age of AI.
Experience is an AI Advantage
In fact, older workers are uniquely positioned to leverage artificial intelligence. Their experiences have built up foundational understandings of their fields. As AI helps streamline routine tasks, they bring the soft skills and judgement needed to pivot to a company’s higher-level issues with their freed-up time.
When Stereotypes Get in the Way
Yet, the stereotypes persist, and older workers feel the impact. Seventy-six percent of U.S. adults surveyed agree that people assume older workers are less comfortable with new technology. And among adults 55+, that number rises to 81%.
Such wariness may not be surprising, because it’s not uncommon for older workers to face myths about their tech abilities when searching for new opportunities. For instance, even the most tech-savvy older job seekers might be discouraged by a phrase such as “digital native” in a job description, understanding it as a signal that employers are looking for someone younger, rather than an age-neutral, highly skilled candidate. Likewise for phrases such as “go-getter” or “culture fit.” Between 41% and 46% of older workers told the survey those three phrases lead them to believe a job is intended for another age group.
The Cost of Overlooking Talent
Such bias could be a reason why older workers find it challenging to land a late-career job. As a group, they end up among the long-term unemployed at a far higher rate than their younger colleagues. Currently, among 55- to 64-year-old workers, the average unemployment duration is 41.2 weeks, versus 26.3 weeks for the overall population, according to August 2026 employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and AARP.
Those types of earnings disruptions late in life can derail the security of their retirements and push more of the cost onto society, which also misses out on the added productivity these workers could have contributed to the economy. Financial hardship of older workers slows the economic engine, leading businesses to pull back on spending and hiring of all age groups.
As for employers, unconscious age discrimination narrows their applicant pools, depriving themselves of the best mix of talent available.
Innovation is a Team Sport
They also deny their employees the benefits of an intergenerational workforce. In the CWI Works Longevity Workforce Outlook, a significant majority of workers, especially 18- to 34-year-olds, said that their own work benefits by working alongside colleagues of different generations. That’s a clear sign that older workers are bringing a certain type of experience and know-how to the workforce that workers of all ages value.
How does that work? Founder and CEO of CWI Labs, Gary A. Officer, described in a NY Post article, “At the 2024 Paris Olympics…the US men’s basketball team roster included rising stars like Anthony Edwards and Jason Tatum as well as older veterans, and they blended well to advance to the gold medal game. The young players had speed and drive. But with the gold medal on the line, Steph Curry’s brilliance and the experience of LeBron James and Kevin Durant powered the team to success.”
LeBron James just redefined what longevity, adaptability, and peak performance look like,
So that raises the question: If the sporting world can find the right combination of talent across generations, why can’t some employers do the same?
Officer recently discussed this and other implications of the CWI Works Longevity Workforce Outlook with Ramona Schindelheim, editor-in-chief of the Future of Work(ers) newsletter. Watch their conversation today to learn more about the data, and the implications of false stereotypes keeping older workers from accessing the training and quality jobs – even as the stakes for these workers, employers and the economy couldn’t be higher.
