seniors and aging policy

Flipping the script on aging – an interesting concept.  No surprise that Dolly Parton and Cher, both now age 80, exemplify the script flip. That flip includes the substantial cosmetic work that each has had to produce a new (and then newer) face.  Both are still performing – as are numerous other 80+ rock stars like Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney.  Good for them. I guess.  Is this an aspiration to be shared by the millions of baby boomers headed toward or arrived at 80?  Is playing pickleball the standard by which 80-year-olds want to be measured?  How about drug-facilitated weight loss?

The elusive dream of AI accountability in the face of disaster.  You know, of course, that ChatGPT is trained to avoid showing harmful material.  It’s ‘built with safety in mind.’ Just ask OpenAI. So the plethora of cases that has emerged in the past few years in terms of triggered suicide (Sept 2025) and then in November 2025 (“You’re not rushing into suicide, you’re just ready”) and March, 2026 via a train: ‘what’s the most successful way to take your own life?’ Parental controls were introduced, no doubt as a defensive measure, in 2025 after one of these ‘incidents.’  Ah, but perhaps day late and a dollar short --  the controls apply to 13 to 17-year-olds and are not on by default! And some say they are broken by design – requiring linking child’s account to parent’s.

Falls are a serious problem among the oldest adults.  No one can question the statistics - falls are the leading cause of injury-related death among adults ages 65 and older, and the fall death rate increased by 21% from 2018 to 2024. The Senate’s Committee on Aging has taken note – and this week has launched a request for more tech-enabled innovation. Note the chart below and the increase among the population aged 85 and older.  Also interesting to note that life expectancy has increased during this period – resulting in more people living past age 85.  In fact, mortality rates for older men have been decreasing at a faster rate than for women.

Aging in place makes the senior living industry anxious.  A new article from Caring.com scopes out the cost differential between aging in place (in some states), replete with home modification requirements and related costs.  It identifies the 10 states where assisted living is actually cheaper than aging at home, with South Dakota as being the most reasonable by comparison to staying at home. Hmmm. Average temperature in South Dakota in February is, let’s say, too cold to go for a walk. But no worries, the median age in South Dakota is 38.5 and only 5% are aged 80+.  So it may be cheaper to age in place there, but virtually no one is doing it.

Census data shows what models, samples and estimates cannot. Actual responses surveying access to technology can highlight regional gaps in broadband access – despite all the talk about broadband availability ‘everywhere’ and multiple federal programs over the years trying to make it so. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) explains why broadband access is important, even critical: senior learning programs, telehealth access, streaming video, and shopping. Let’s add social communication for communities and family, such as Zoom and FaceTime.

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.