Aging and Health Technology Watch

As interviews begin, ideas for the future of AI and older adults are emerging.  For the updated report, The Future of AI and Older Adults 2030, suggestions for the future are key to the conversation. As interviews are scheduled and completed, recommendations emerge. These ideas are sensibly building on what would be useful for older adults, coupled with what has already been delivered in the marketplace. For each of these ideas, the report will also consider the barriers that may hobble full adoption, including lack of awareness, training (both for the consumer side and professional), and acceptable cost.  But for now, imagine that by 2030:

Is everything now voice-enabled -- so that transition is done?  Whine On. Is the response smart or, uh, just a response? Just tried an experiment, asking via Hey Siri for the best technologies to use for people with dementia.  Got a nice and brief summary. Next pass, skipped the ‘Hey Siri’ part, asked the same question. This time it offered up the possibility of using ChatGPT which produced a long and useful list.  So it appears Apple’s partnership with ChatGPT is working well.  But why the first list at all?  People asking the question don’t really want the longer list and are satisfied with the minimum?  Really?  

The aging population has significant implications.  Consider a few assumptions:   Average life expectancy at 65 is mid-80’s, though many will live into their 90s. Older adults want to remain in their home as long as possible.  A quarter of men aged 75+ and 43% of women live alone.   Reports indicate that 46% of those aged 75+ have a disability.  It’s not much of a stretch to imagine that as many as half will need some kind of care assistance in their home at some point.  It is also likely that most people will not be able to afford 24x7 home care. But even if they could afford it, there is a severe home care worker shortage that is likely to worsen over the coming years as baby boomers enter their 80s.

You know the experience.  You walk into the lobby of a medical practice, and the sign tells you to sign in at the kiosk. You drop your license in the slot – but the software is having a down day, and so a person emerges from behind the glass to debug it.  Meanwhile another person checks you in.  So their time savings from the device evaporate. The irritation of the patients trying to sign in grows – one announces how much he hates technology.

The AI infrastructure juggernaut is on – consumers hesitate and deployment is cautious.   Parallel tracks are emerging. Investment by the big players in infrastructure (see Nvidia) is overwrought.  Even Oracle is jumping in with billions – as well as redirecting the company to be all-in on AI.  Today, 78% of companies say they are using AI in at least one business function. Meanwhile, back over in the real people corner, surveyed consumers continue to be surveyed and are cautious and concerned. Why the disconnect?  Mostly gloomy news coverage about AI.

Baby boomer aging – it’s a big tech opportunity. Today there are 76 million US baby boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964.  They represent 21 percent of the US population.   73% of all wealth in the United States is concentrated among those over age 55, most of whom are baby boomers.   As the oldest of the baby boomers begin turning 80 in January of 2026, which can generate worry (as in that NY Times post) or be viewed as a market opportunity.   Life expectancy at 65 is on average another 20 years.   Note that 20% of the 65+ today are working.   So what does it all mean?

It’s a pretty good tech universe if you know what you’re doing...  Maybe you’re someone who reads all the new tech announcements, knows that your phone is aging, understands what features you need and goes forth and buys the new gadget of the day.  However, survey after survey show that while adoption is growing, more than half (59%) of older adults think technology is not designed with their age in mind. two-thirds (64 percent) of older adults believe they have the digital skills necessary to fully take advantage of being online.

Consider this gloomy WSJ article about aging. More Americans Are Aging Alone, Who Will Take Care of Them? The premise? “More than 16 million people aged 65 and older in the U.S. live alone. That represents 28% of that age group, almost triple the share in 1950." Whoa!  First of all 20% of the 65+ population is working today. Why? Life expectancy at 65 has risen to the mid-eighties for both women and men, compared to late 60’s, early 70’s in 1950. And a shrinking percentage of Americans live in rural areas today, according to Pew Research. While the article is a compelling description of a heroic organization of underpaid workers serving an Appalachian community, mapping the article to the reality of older adults in the United States today is disingenuous.

We are selling a product that people don’t want to buy. This Senior Housing News article, The New Skilled Nursing: Assisted Living Operators Adapt to Changing Place in the Care Continuum does not hide a trend that is significantly changing their business but also the future for older adults. So they delay their move until it becomes urgent – Mom cannot live at home any longer. Translate – Mom is too frail, her dementia is worse, her mobility has declined, etc. She will need multiple types of support.  Recent statistics about assisted living demographics are harsh: Consumer Affairs asserts that 70% of residents have some level of dementia, with the majority of residents women in their 80’s.

Clearly many caregivers are missing out on useful technology.  According to the new AARP Caregiving in the US report, utilization of useful technologies, detailed in a brief report attached here, that could help with care of either children or older adults is below 50% other than smart home tech. Maybe that is the smart doorbell?  Smart TV? --which is just about all you can buy.  Only 10% of caregivers say they own home health safety devices, which probably include a pendant with fall detection or an in-home fall detection device. If these caregivers are living with the older adult, perhaps that makes sense.  If not, perhaps they do not know what they don’t know. Only a third say they use smart home technology (for lighting? Temperature control? Other?). Perhaps the AARP site for caregivers would be of benefit.  Lots of information there.