Application of Artificial Intelligence Towards Successful Ageing: A Holistic Approach

Introduction

Over the last decades, a dramatic demographic shift has been taking place regarding worldwide population, caused by an extended life expectancy for residents of modern societies (Lunenfeld & Stratton, 2013). This fact has translated into an increase in the number of older adults, who in 2018 surpassed children and in the next 30 years are expected to reach 2 billion globally, the majority being over 80 years old (Kastner et al., 2019). In this respect, it is a well-known fact that mental and physical status become increasingly vulnerable over the course of ageing, associated with a number of adverse outcomes that affect quality of life. Health-related impacts of ageing are accompanied by further negative consequences, since compromised independence and lack of self-confidence may cause stress, lack of motivation, social isolation and overall frailty, all acceding to a vicious cycle besetting older individuals. Conjointly to the normal decline process, the accumulative effects of dietary and lifestyle habits of an individual pose as significant risk factors for the incidence of chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes (Walther et al., 2017), accounting for additional disease and treatment burdens inflicted on individuals and their families, as well as healthcare and social systems (Wallace et al., 2015).

These facts call for effective solutions for the overall welfare of an ageing population, implicating health, social and emotional domains. In this view, the notions of healthy and successful ageing (Longobucco et al., 2019) are currently being promoted in order to mitigate the effects of normal decline and reduce the associated risks by contributing in keeping the older individuals healthy and active, as well as in maintaining high cognitive and physical status. In cultivating these goals, the effectiveness of such interventions entails analysis of the multifactorial determinants of healthy living by considering behavioral, social and medical aspects for establishing safe (i.e. low-risk) environments, assisting older adults in adopting a healthier lifestyle related to aspects involving nutrition, physical/cognitive activity, leisure and social engagement.

Towards addressing these challenges, the combination of novel technologies with acquired knowledge from clinical and social fields bears the potential to cultivate the development of holistic protocols that employ Artificial Intelligence (AI) for unobtrusive monitoring and comprehensive assessment, promoting new best practices and collective guidelines for smooth penetration into societies. From this perspective, this chapter proposes a generalized framework that incorporates concepts such as Internet-of-Things (IoT), AI and Affective Computing (AC), for establishing a healthy and successful ageing ecosystem that enables older people to live independently inside and outside their home. The outlined framework is based on sensor-derived information blended with additional non-sensor-based computerized modules and voice-based user inputs, backed by an interoperable ICT (Information and Communication Technology) framework utilizing cloud computing.

Initially, the chapter focuses on the specific impacts of ageing on individual, regional and global scales, delineating the humanitarian context and challenges posed with reference to health, emotional, social and financial aspects. Next, the detailed methodological components of the proposed smart-living environment are presented, along with the projected tangible influence and real-world scenarios. Additionally, some key barriers and potential solutions are identified, followed by a description of the current state-of-the-art and future prospects associated with the full implementation of the envisioned architecture.