Technology and AI is fast becoming part of everyone’s lives, and the seniors living industry is no exception. As the demand for aged care services overtakes the ability of the sector to deliver it, operators are embracing these new tools for their ability to augment staff shortages, demonstrate service delivery and improve the consumer experience by helping to ease the social isolation that is sadly so common amongst older Australians.

Elyssia Clark is the General Manager of Customer, Insights and Marketing at not-for-profit aged care and community services provider, Benetas - and has been championing the use of robotics and AI through the introduction of Abi the Robot into some of their aged care facilities.

In this episode of The Business of Ageing podcast, we will be talking about some of the new technology that is being adopted by the sector, the operational impact that it’s having, and how both staff and residents are adapting to this brave new world.

The Business of Ageing podcast has been produced by Shaun Alexander at Pluss Communities

Elyssia Clark is the General Manager of Customer, Insights and Marketing at Benetas

Right now, generative AI and education is a contentious issue, as schools and universities scramble to adapt their assessment processes to the growing use of tools such Chat GPT by students.

But not everyone in education is looking at this technology as a threat, especially when it comes to assisting older people in maintaining their cognitive function and helping them to thrive in elder hood through continuous, lifelong learning.

Michael Doneman is working on his PhD at RMIT’s School of Communications and Design. His study is focussed on the use and impact of artificial intelligence amongst aging populations, specifically looking at the role of AI-enabled digital avatars in helping older people learn, flourish and ultimately age well in place.

In our conversation, Michael discusses how quickly older people move past the fear of this new technology once they understand the application and ultimately embrace its potential.

In this episode of the Business of Ageing we will be diving into the “Future Now” world of AI, what it is, where it’s going and look at the incredible opportunities that this technology can bring to older Australians once you cut through the media-fuelled noise that the mere mention of AI seems to bring.

The Business of Ageing podcast has been produced by Shaun Alexander at Pluss Communities

Michael Doneman is a PhD student at RMIT University at the founder of Edgeware Creative Entrepreneurship

Is there a right size for a home and how is that definition changing? Do families still aspire to live in a freestanding house on a quarter acre block in the suburbs or is our definition of The Great Australian Dream evolving due to financial realities and cultural influences? And what about older Australians? How many are still living in the old family home, long after the kids have moved on, in a house that is clearly too big for their needs?

Lucy Sutherland, Director of Insights and Trends at Temple & Webster has recently compiled a research paper called “The Future of Rightsizing in Australian Housing”, and argues that the traditional definition is definitely changing, but there is still considerable hesitation for many people to embrace higher density living.

In this episode of The Business of Ageing podcast, Lucy shares the findings of the report, discusses what “rightsizing” means to each generation and argues that you can determine someone’s satisfaction with the size of their home by the number of spare bedrooms they have.

At a time of ongoing housing affordability stress and a rapidly ageing population, this conversation is incredibly timely.

The Business of Ageing podcast has been produced by Shaun Alexander at Pluss Communities

Lucy Sutherland is the Director of Insights and Trends at Temple & Webster

You can download the full Future of Rightsizing report here