The aging of the population is a great achievement but also poses challenges for society, families, and older adults. Because of age-related changes in abilities, many older adults encounter difficulties that threaten independence and well-being. Further, the likelihood of developing a disability or a chronic condition increases with age. Currently, family members provide a significant source of support for older adults. However, changes in family and social structures raises questions regarding how care will be provided to future cohorts of older adults. There is clearly a need for innovative strategies to address care needs of future generations of aging individuals. Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications hold promise in terms of providing support for older adults. For example, applications are available that can track and monitor vital signs, health indicators, and cognition; or provide support for everyday activities. This paper highlights, with examples, the potential role of AI in providing support for aging adults to enhance independent living and the quality of life for both older adults and families. Challenges associated with the implementation of AI applications are also discussed and recommendations for needed research are highlighted.
Administration for Community Living. (2020). 2019 profile of older Americans. U.S. Government Printing Office.
2.
AlfadilM. (2020). Effectiveness of virtual reality game in foreign language vocabulary acquisition. Computers & Education, 153, 103893. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2020.103893
3.
AllabanA. A.WangM.PadırT. (2020). A systematic review of robotics research in support of in-home care for older adults. Information, 11(2), 75. https://doi.org/10.3390/info11020075
4.
AlpaydimE. (2010). Introduction to machine learning (2nd ed.). MIT press.
ArthanatS.WilcoxJ.MacuchM. (2019). Profiles and predictors of smart home technology adoption by older adults. OTJR, 39(4), 247–256. https://doi.org/10.1177/1539449218813906
7.
AylazR.AkturkU.ErciB.OzturkH.AslanH. (2012). Relationship between depression and loneliness in elderly and examination of influential factors. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 55(3), 548–554. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.03.006
8.
BadalV. D.NebekerC.ShinkawaK.YamadaY.RentscherK. E.KimH. C.LeeE. E. (2021). Do words matter? Detecting social isolation and loneliness in older adults using natural language processing. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 728732. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.728732
9.
BinetteJ.VasoldK. (2019). 2018 Home and community preferences: A national survey of adults age 18-plus. AARP Research. https://doi.org/10.26419/res.00231.001
10.
BootW. R.CharnessN.CzajaS. J.RogersW. A. (2020). Designing for older adults: Case studies, methods, and tools. CRC Press.
11.
BrickwoodKJWilliamsADWatsonGO'BrienJ (2020). Older adults' experiences of using a wearable activity tracker with health professional feedback over a 12-month randomised controlled trial. Digit Health; 6. https://doi.org/10.1177/2055207620921678
12.
ChandrasekaranR.KatthulaV.MoustakasE. (2021). Too old for technology? Use of wearable healthcare devices by older adults and their willingness to share health data with providers. Health Informatics Journal, 27(4), 146045822110580. https://doi.org/10.1177/14604582211058073
13.
ChaudhuriS.KnealeL.LeT.PhelanE.RosenbergD.ThompsonH.DemirisG. (2015). Older adults’ perceptions of fall detection devices. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 36(8), 915–930. https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464815591211
CzajaS. J.BootW. R.CharnessN.RogersW. A. (2019). Designing for older adults: Principles and creative human factors approaches (3rd ed.). CRC Press.
16.
CzajaS. J.SharitJ. (2013). Designing training and instructional programs for older adults. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group.
17.
DermodyG.WhiteheadL.WilsonG.GlassC. (2020). The role of virtual reality in improving health outcomes for community-dwelling older adults: Systematic review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(6), Article e17331. https://doi.org/10.2196/17331
18.
El KamaliM. E.AngeliniL.CaonM.CarrinoF.RöckeC.GuyeS.RizzoG.MastropietroA.SykoraM.SuzannaE.KniestedtI.ZiylanC.LettieriE.AbouK., O.MugelliniE. (2020). Virtual coaches for older adults’ wellbeing: A systematic review. IEEE Access, 8, 101884–101902. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.2996404
19.
EllisP.HickieI. (2001). What causes mental illness? In BlochSSinghB (Eds.), Foundations of clinical psychiatry (pp. 43–62). Melbourne University Press.
20.
FarivarS.AboutzahraM.GhasemaghaeiM. (2020). Wearable device adoption among older adults: A mixed-methods study. International Journal of Information Management, 55(4), 102209. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102209
21.
FratiglioniL.WangH.EricssonK.MaytanM.WinbladB. (2000). Influence of social network on occurrence of dementia: A community-based longitudinal study. Lancet, 355(9212), 1315–1319. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(00)02113-9
22.
FreedmanV. A.SpillmanB. C. (2014). Disability and care needs among older Americans. Milbank Quarterly, 92(3), 509–541. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0009.12076
23.
GrahamS. A.EllenE.LeeE. E.DilipV.JesteD. V.Ryan Van PattenR.ElizabethW.TwamleyE. W.Camille NebekerC.Yasunori YamadaY.Ho-Cheol KimH.DeppC. A. (2020). Artificial intelligence approaches to predicting and detecting cognitive decline in older adults: A conceptual review. Psychiatry Research, 284, 112732. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2019.112732
24.
HeinrichL. M.GulloneE. (2006). The clinical significance of loneliness: A literature review. Clinical Psychology Review, 2(26), 695–718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2006.04.002
25.
Holt-LunstadJ.SmithT. B.LaytonJ. B. (2010). Social relationships and mortality risk: A meta-analytic review. PLoS Med, 7(7), Article e1000316. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316
KalantariS.XuT.MostafaviA.LeeA.BarankevichR.BootW.CzajaS. J. (2022). Using a nature-based virtual reality environment for improving mood states and cognitive engagement in older adults: A mixed-method feasibility study. Innovation in Aging, 6(3), igac015. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igac015
28.
KimS. (2021). Exploring How Older Adults Use a Smart Speaker-Based Voice Assistant in Their First Interactions: Qualitative Study. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 13;9(1):e20427. https://doi.org/10.2196/20427
29.
LeeL. N.KimM. J. (2020). A critical review of smart residential environments for older adults with a focus on pleasurable experience. Frontiers in Psychology, 24(10), 3080. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03080
30.
LeeL. N.KimM. J.HwangW. J. (2019). Potential of augmented reality and virtual reality technologies to promote wellbeing in older adults. Applied Sciences, 9(17), 3556. https://doi.org/10.3390/app9173556
31.
LiuL.StrouliaE.NikolaidisI.Miguel-CruzA.Rios RinconA. (2016). Smart homes and home health monitoring technologies for older adults: A systematic review. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 91, 44–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2016.04.007
32.
LyonsE. J.SwartzM. C.LewisZ. H.MartinezE.JenningsK. (2017). Feasibility and acceptability of a wearable technology physical activity intervention with telephone counseling for mid-aged and older adults: A randomized controlled pilot trial. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth, 5(3), Article e28. https://doi.org/10.2196/mhealth.6967
33.
MarikyanD.PapagiannidisS.AlamanosE. (2019). A systematic review of the smart home literature: a user perspective. Technol. Forecast. Soc. Chang.138 139–154. 10.1016/j.techfore.2018.08.015
34.
MarkowitzD. M.LahaR.PeroneB. P.PeaR. D.BailensonJ. N. (2018). Immersive virtual reality field trips facilitate learning about climate change. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 2364. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02364
35.
MooreK.O’SheaE.KennyL.BartonJ.TedescoS.SicaM.CroweC.AlamäkiA.CondellJ.NordströmA.TimmonsS. (2021). Older adults’ experiences with using wearable devices: Qualitative systematic review and meta-synthesis. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 9(6), Article e23832. https://doi.org/10.2196/23832
36.
MoroC.LinS.NejatG.MihailidisA. (2019). Social robots and seniors: A comparative study on the influence of dynamic social features on human–robot interaction. International Journal of Social Robotics, 11(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-018-0488-1
37.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2016). Families caring for an aging America. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/23606
38.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2020). Social isolation and loneliness in older adults: Opportunities for the health care system. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25663
39.
PuL.MoyleW JonesC.TodorovicM. (2019). The effectiveness of social sobots for older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies. The Gerontologist, 59(1), Article e37–e51. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gny046
40.
RafnssonS. B.OrrellM.d’OrsiE.HogervorstE.SteptoeA. (2020). Loneliness, social Integration, and incident Dementia over 6 years: Prospective findings from the English longitudinal study of ageing. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 75(1), 114–124. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbx087
41.
RantzM. J.SkubicM.MillerS. J.GalambosC.AlexanderG.KellerJ.PopescuM. (2013). Sensor technology to support aging in place. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 14(6), 386–391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2013.02.018
42.
RobinsonE. L.ParkG.LaneK.SkubicM.RantzM. (2020). Technology for healthy independent living: Creating a tailored in-home sensor system for older adults and family caregivers. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 46(7), 35–40. https://doi.org/10.3928/00989134-20200605-06
43.
RosenblattF. (1958). The perceptron: A probabilistic model for information storage and organization in the brain. Psychological Review, 65(6), 386–408. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0042519
44.
RusselS.NorvigP. (2010). Artificial intelligence: A modern approach (3rd ed.). Prentical Hall.
45.
Sanchez-VivesM. V.SlaterM. (2005). From presence to consciousness through virtual reality. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 6(4), 332–339. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1651
46.
SchlomannA.WahlH.-W.ZentelP.HeylV.KnappL.OpfermannC.KramerT.RietzC. (2021). Potential and pitfalls of digital voice assistants in older adults with and without intellectual disabilities: Relevance of participatory design elements and ecologically valid field studies. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 684012. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.684012
47.
SmarrC. A.MitznerT. L.BeerJ. M.PrakashA.ChenT. L.KempC. C.RogersW. A. (2014). Domestic robots for older adults: Attitudes, preferences, and potential. International Journal of Social Robotics, 6(2), 229–247. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-013-0220-0
