Socioeconomic Inequality and Digital Literacy in the Age of AI: Understanding the Greek Divide

Resumen

This study looks at how digital literacy and socioeconomic disparities affect public knowledge and acceptance of artificial intelligence (AI) in Greece. Based on information from the author's doctoral research (omitted for blind review), the study finds a consistent split between groups who are digitally enabled and those who are digitally excluded. Reflecting variations in education, income, geography, and cultural capital, this split goes much beyond only technological and is quite fundamental. According to the study, a major factor influencing fair technological participation is AI literacy, which is the capacity to understand, assess, and interact with intelligent systems. Digital skills are still not distributed equally in Greece, especially between cities and rural areas, younger and older generations, and richer and poorer income groups. These disparities affect AI trust, perceived usefulness, and readiness to include intelligent technologies into daily life. The authors present the Artificial Intelligence Socio-Digital Inequality Framework (ASDIF), which captures the interplay among socioeconomic level, digital literacy, and emotional reactions toward artificial intelligence. The framework shows how more education promotes curiosity, ethical reflection, and educated use while less information and exposure to artificial intelligence can cause anxiety, mistrust, or moral resistance. Inclusive AI governance and education policy in Greece depend on an awareness of these interactions. The study finishes with a recommendation of culturally customized techniques to raise AI awareness and digital inclusion throughout all socioeconomic levels, so guaranteeing that technological advancement does not exacerbate current disparities.