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Voice/AI/Voice Assistants

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Voice/AI/Voice Assistants

The future of voice first and older adults as seen in 2018 -- did it happen?

Design improvements that benefit all will benefit older adults and caregivers. Unlike niche hardware and software for seniors, basic Voice First platforms and software will change rapidly and without disruption for users – accompanied by a ‘What’s New’ weekly email and a few suggestions on new tricks to try – but the changes behind the front-facing features will make the most difference. With the 2018 lens to guide the market today, here are a few ways the user experience and thus the ecosystem should have ratcheted upwards:

7 Key Trends to Watch from Aging and Health Technology Watch

What trends matter this year and beyond? In 2022, the oldest baby boomer turns 76, while the population aged 65+ will exceed 54 million. Trends accelerated by the pandemic continue to emerge, and the population aged 50+ will continue to purchase and use technology, accounting for an estimated 51% of technology spending by 2030. In an interview with Best Buy Health for their 800,000 recipient newsletter, these were the 7 trendsb we identified that will persist throughout the year -- and beyond.  These should be of particular note to startups and tech companies that want to reach the older adult market.

Did you miss one? Four Tech and Aging Blog Posts from February 2022

March 2022 – in-person annual trade shows are back.  For so many who have been Zooming, Teaming, and WebEx’ing, lo, these many months, it’s actually comforting to know that the big exhibit shows are back.  This will be exciting for firms hoping to actually meet prospects in person, including events like HearTech Expo, sponsored by the American Academy of Audiology in St. Louis on April 1 – and next week’s VIVE 2022, the new health IT event in Miami. Upcoming, Argentum’s Senior Living Executive Conference in Minneapolis in March, then the American Society on Aging’s annual conference, On Aging, in New Orleans in April.  LeadingAge is holding its Leadership Summit in Washington, DC this month and its annual Conference and Expo in Colorado in October.  Hopefully all will be well-attended and business deals will be done, just like in the old days.  And to stay up to date, here are the four blog posts from February, 2022:

Voice-AI for Older Adults -- How has it helped and what's next?

Voice technology in 2022 – living up to hope and hype? By 2018, it seemed possible that Voice First technology (and its associated AI software) could transform the technology user experience for older adults (see report: The Future of Voice First Technology and Older Adults 2018). Fairly new at the time, a few senior living organizations embraced it for its home automation potential, possibility of concierge services -- turn on the lights! Raise the blinds! Book me on the afternoon trip!. The generally accepted view was that this technology was going to be “Easy, Cheap, Useful, Smart, and Connected (home automation that just works).” Amazon’s Alexa service ran on multiple variants of cheap hardware. Like Apple’s Siri, the software’s understanding of requests was relatively weak (compared to Google Assistant, which emerged in 2018 on Android and iOS).

Six recent Voice/Conversational AI innovations for older adults

Older adults benefit from voice-AI enabled innovation and deployment. And it looks like they will continue to benefit in 2022 and beyond. For one thing, at least two-thirds of older adults (age 70+) own smartphones, the 65+ population prefers Alexa among voice assistants, one-third of Americans have smart speakers. Researchers want to understand how best to create a voice assistant. Amazon’s Alexa Together wants to help monitor falls of older adults in senior living. Advice to seniors seeks to help older adults understand how to benefit from voice while aging in place. In addition, multiple senior living organizations have or are now publicizing their initiatives (information is from the publicly available material):

In the time of CES 2022 -- advice to tech firms about older adults

This week is CES 2022 -- new and current entrants seek markets and partnerships.  Perhaps you aren't paying attention -- but once per year, innovations from around the world are presented at CES for comment, media attention, and most of all, seeking interest about what's new (or even just envisioned).  This year it is a hybrid event -- with some folks in person, some watching online and others lurking among the press releases. Next week's blog post will detail 10 products/services from CES 2022 that will likely make a difference for older adults.  But this week, here is advice for startups and new entrants when thinking about reaching an older adult audience.  It is extracted from the Technology for Aging 2022 Market Overview, to be posted following CES, and including 30 offerings that were not in the 2021 version. The advice: 

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