Revolutionizing Retirement: How AI-Powered Visuals Change Retirement Goal Clarity and Risk Tolerance?

This pioneering study seeks to integrate an AI-based cognitive intervention, called AI painting, with a traditional behavioral approach in retirement financial planning, specifically personalized pension projection (PPP), to address the design limitations of the latter. A randomized control trial was conducted to assess the impact of AI painting on retirement goal clarity and risk tolerance among Chinese working adults. Participants were divided into two groups: the experimental group received both PPP and AI painting interventions, while the control group received only PPP. The results revealed that AI painting significantly reduced retirement goal clarity but significantly increased risk tolerance. Additionally, the decrease in retirement goal clarity hindered the effectiveness of AI painting in promoting risk tolerance. While the findings suggest that AI painting can enhance cognition related to retirement financial planning, particularly risk tolerance, the negative impact on retirement goal clarity cannot be overlooked, as it undermines AI painting’s potential benefits. Future research should focus on optimizing AI painting to promote clarity in retirement goals.