Aging and Health Technology Watch

Some subjects are perennials – like robots for older adults.  Here we go again. This must be in some Fast Company editor’s standing list of topics – nothing else to write about so let’s do the robot-for-older-adults article again, this time written by futurists, comparing AI tech to physical robots – and asking real older adults what they think. You have to hand it to the interviewees – they know this is not a ‘robots’ topic. And they recognize ‘Advisor’ capability that already exists in Siri and Alexa – and that it is improving, though not (yet?) helping with human connections and isolation. 

The more things change – some trends dominate.   As the demographics change, couples age at different rates, life expectancy grows among the 65+ --averaging 20 more years, the oldest population growth rate outpaces younger demographic segments.  As the oldest baby boomer crosses 80 in the next few months several trends will drive technology adoption in distinctly new ways. As a result, the market for tech will need to accommodate a series of changes, sales methodologies and market opportunities.  A worsening labor shortage will continue to plague the senior care sectors, including senior living, nursing homes, and in-home care. What are the drivers that should attract innovators in the older adult tech industry?

An impressive process was launched in 2013 at an AARP convention in Atlanta. Groups of older adults were shown how to use tablets. A presenter demonstrated and 4H volunteers sat at tables with the attendees to show them how to use them.  The program was called Mentor Up – and the idea was that young people could/should volunteer to help older adults with a device that was unfamiliar and baffling. At that time, the iPad was just three years old. The older adults in the room almost certainly did not own one -- at that time, 26 million older adults were NOT online. So their surprise and delight at what it could do made an impression. The role of young people was equally impressive -- and should be a role model for today.

The gap between some older adults and the devices/software they need does not narrow. As AARP responders noted in their survey, tech products do not seem to be designed with them in mind.  There are many indicators of this, but it was reinforced on a flight recently.  An older woman nearby struggles to access Wi-Fi, which is, uh, not that obvious. After a while, even with help, she gave up and read a book. She was not unlike the responders aged 70+ in the AARP survey who did not believe that tech could enable a healthy life. So how can this gap be closed? 

Five years ago -- this site looked at the state of dementia-related technologies.  The more things (the tech offerings) change, the more their purpose and function remain the same.  Today there are websites that list gadgetry for managing and living with dementia.  There are research reports about technology for dementia care that include social robots, apps, or GPS locators. There are thoughts about implementation factors, articles from AARP, books about dementia care and many other knowledgeable observations and sources of guidance. Today 6.9 million Americans have dementia, slightly fewer than the 7 million estimated in 2020, though growth projections about dementia through 2030 were large and lon longer timeframe ones are even larger.  So what are the general tech categories that can help at the various stages?

Home care is a labor-intensive business. And as everyone can see, labor is increasingly a scarce resource, likely to seem ever more scarce -- as the boomers age into their 80’s and beyond, their population outpacing the growth of the care workforce. While there are many articles that will describe the 'aging tsunami' and worrisome lack of workers to care for the oldest, few technology solutions have entered this market up to now. How can AI tools participate appropriately in home care and home healthcare?  What are some of the circumstances that make this the right time to consider? And what are examples that indicate potential?  Suggestions of offerings and interviewees are welcome.

Tech adoption for older adults is growing... The surveyed ubiquity of technology has led to a belief that it is everywhere it needs to be, with media assumptions about the benefit of smartphones and online tools, ownership of devices, or access to broadband speeds. The majority of older adults now own smartphones and smart TVs. Why? To access digital services. And, of course, to connect with families. But it is past time to make smartphone user interfaces more usable (accessible even) and make sure that if it’s the only phone an older adult owns, it supports sharing tools like FaceTime, text chatting, or YouTube. 

An increasingly tech-oriented society makes older adult tech adoption critical. While many information-based offerings are now AI-enabled, many other capabilities like wearables and sensors, can offer safety features or be enablers for those with physical challenges -- including mobility and hearing. In addition, for those who are most comfortable interacting with a smart TV, there are new solutions that make the TV a more effective device, improve walking, or enable greater safety when out and about.  Here are five first-time entrants in this year’s report that fit that category – all content directly from the companies:

As 2025 began, the oldest baby boomer has turned 79. The population aged 65+ exceeds 58 million. Because of the sheer size of the older adult market, vendors see older adults as constituents of the market of technology for multiple age and health segments, though in the consumer product category their opinions are still often ignored (see The User Experience Needs An Upgrade).  How does the technology market evolve in next few years -- and how do older adults respond to the changes and opportunities it presents? 

Government changes to help older adults. Caregiving and other demands of an aging population gained significant government attention and new initiatives during 2024, all approved, with only reimbursed telehealth access remaining to be approved. Technology enablement and access will likely be components of each of these initiatives as they evolve. Clearly more progress is required for protecting older adults from scams.