AI – it’s everywhere, including tech for older adults. So what is AI? Artificial intelligence (AI) is a wide-ranging branch of computer science concerned with building smart machines capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence. AI can use machine learning based on large data sets, and has a number of well-known applications, including recommendations from Netflix, Siri and Alexa, bots and robo-advisors. AI plays an increasing role in healthcare, including the growing use of chatbot tools used by patients. In addition, there are multiple examples of use in the care of older adults. In some cases, these are the result of partnerships, in others from product development. Here are five recent examples leveraging AI, with all information coming from vendor announcements and websites:
New York City, June 15, 2021 – MyndYou and its AI-based virtual care assistant, MyEleanor, were selected from hundreds of candidates and products as one of the World Economic Forum’s 2021 “Technology Pioneers.”
MyndYou, co-founded by CEO Ruth Poliakine Baruchi and CTO Itay Baruchi, Ph.D., pairs simple but sophisticated technology and actionable data to help payers, providers, and community-based organizations keep seniors safe, engaged, and healthy at home.
August should have been a sleepy month – but no. Multiple interesting acquisitions during August make tech and older adults intriguing. Early in the month, the largest franchised home care company (Home Instead) was acquired by a tech upstart, Honor – to ‘scale up home care’. Connect America, which had already acquired the 'aging and caregiving business of' Philips Lifeline, then acquired a remote patient (RPM) monitoring startup and AI-virtual assistant company called 100plus. Investor interest in age-tech startups is growing, older adults are certainly aging – synergy between these phenomena will certainly follow. The blog posts for August:
New connected health research from Parks Associates finds 73% of current caregivers are likely to buy an independent living solution for their loved one. Among these intenders, 28% are planning to acquire a smart watch, 25% a PERS solution, 25% a professionally installed home sensor system, and 22% a smart speaker/display solution.
ModivCare Inc., a technology-enabled healthcare services company that provides integrated supportive care solutions focused on improving patient outcomes, today announced that the Company has signed a purchase agreement to acquire VRI Intermediate Holdings, LLC (“VRI”), a provider of remote patient monitoring (“RPM”) solutions.
AI – it’s everywhere, including tech for older adults. So what is AI? 
August should have been a sleepy month – but no. 