AI in Caregiving: Balancing Worries and Rewards
Nov 27, 2024
Where We Are, Today
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a powerful tool, but it’s natural to feel cautious about its role in caregiving. At Pamastay, we’ve heard concerns from families worried about AI’s impact on privacy, job security, and even personal autonomy. While these fears are valid, we believe it’s equally important to explore the potential rewards AI offers—especially in improving care for our aging loved ones.
Why Are We Worried About AI?
Whatever other index people think about concerns of AI, they need to be weighted along the spectrum across personal impact and societal impact.
Personal Impact:
AI could lead to job displacement, privacy violations, or over-reliance on technology. For instance, automated hiring systems have already been criticized for perpetuating bias. As caregivers, we want tools that help us, not replace us or undermine our values. AI could also be used to increase your personal output, training, memory, and insight.
Societal Impact:
There’s also fear of AI becoming concentrated in the hands of a few powerful companies, creating inequality and reducing transparency. These issues highlight the need for ethical oversight and responsible innovation in the tech industry. However, it is true that the race for new AI technologies has been borne out of a desire to be sure that there are multiple potential AI providers, and employees of Open AI, just last year, continue to fight to ensure technologies are (a) not only focused on profit and (b) are openly available for all (letter here).
While these concerns are real, history has shown that technological advancements often bring significant benefits when guided by thoughtful implementation.
The Benefits of AI in Caregiving
Today’s AI Solutions:
Improved Healthcare: AI enhances diagnostics and monitoring, catching issues early. In this paper, research indicates that machine models are better at finding breast cancers than previous methods, which could help address racial biases that exist in the medical system today.
Mental Health Support: Apps like Woebot provide conversational therapy to alleviate stress for caregivers and seniors alike.
Enhanced Productivity: Tools like ChatGPT help caregivers manage an overwhelming number of questions, and new context, efficiently. You can have a conversation regarding what to do with a fall, when previously you had to do multiple web searches.
Future Potential:
Autonomous Transport: Self-driving cars could assist frail seniors with getting to appointments. Given the extreme levels of need that are unmet in transportation, Pamastay strongly believes that innovation in this space is critical to health outcomes in the United States over the next twenty years. In San Francisco, Waymo is already generally available in San Francisco - and in is beginning to be recognized as safer than human driving. There is societal impact here that will benefit seniors.
Drug Discovery: Given the advancements we’re seeing in cancer management, and how similar genetic code can be to computer code. Pamastay does believe that future drug discovery will enable wellness and fitness for more people for a longer amount of time. There is societal benefit here as well.
World Safety: In the world of robotics, there are companies that can now track, with logged accuracy in terms of weather conditions and direct timing, the process of building structures. One such company is Raise Robotics which logs how work is done when putting together buildings. This ensures there are accurate construction logs for things like insurance and auditability - which keeps us all safer.
Pamastay: Your Partner in Coordinated Care
At Pamastay, we recognize that adopting AI is a journey. That’s why we focus on solutions that are simple to navigate, such as voice as an input, and technologies that are built to enhance—not replace—human connection. Our tools help families stay organized, informed, and empowered, ensuring that caregiving is a collaborative and stress-free experience.
Your Voice Matters
We’d love to hear from you. What excites or worries you about AI in caregiving? Email us at product@pamastay.com to share your thoughts or questions.
Take Action Today
The future of caregiving is here, and you can be part of it. Sign up for Pamastay to explore how AI can transform caregiving for you and your loved ones. Start building a better care system today—before you find yourself in a moment of crisis.