Social Research, Policy, and Practice

Why AI Governance Should Be a Focal Issue for Gerontology

Chair(s)

• CB

  Clara Berridge, PhD, MSW (she/her/hers)

  Associate Professor
  School of Social Work
  University of Washington
  Seattle, Washington, United States

Discussant(s)

• CB

  Clara Berridge, PhD, MSW (she/her/hers)

  Associate Professor
  School of Social Work
  University of Washington
  Seattle, Washington, United States

Individual Symposium Abstract First Author(s)

• 

  Anita Ho, PhD, MPH (she/her/hers)

  Clinical Professor
  Bioethics Program
  University of British Columbia, Canada
• 

  Julie Robillard, PhD (she/her/hers)

  Associate Professor of Neurology
  Medicine
  University of British Columbia
  Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
• 

  Justyna Stypinska, PhD

  Researcher, principal investigator
  Globalization, Work and Production Research Group
  WZB Berlin Social Science Center
  Berlin, Berlin, Germany
• 

  Vera Gallistl, PhD (she/her/hers)

  Assistant Professor
  Division of Gerontology and Health Research
  Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences
  Krems, Niederosterreich, Austria

Artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-mediated decision making currently impact older adults in numerous ways. From algorithmic decision making used in health insurance, employment, housing, and public benefits, to the information ecosystem, to social robots, AI applications implicate important issues of ethics, access, and ageism. The World Health Organization reports that the diverse interests of older adults are not well represented in discourses about AI policy making or governance. As AI harms are better understood, the call from public interest groups and from many academic fields has gotten louder for comprehensive AI and data privacy policy in the United States (U.S.), which lags behind other countries. Drawing from the international insights of European, Canadian, and U.S.-based research, this symposium will consider how older adults and their rights are represented in AI policy documents, laws, and policy discourse. Dr. Ho will discuss ethical concerns resulting from regulatory gaps in direct-to-consumer AI health monitoring platforms in the U.S context. Dr. Stypinska will highlight how European national (Germany, Spain, UK, Holland and Poland) and international policy documents related to AI position older adults. Dr. Gallistl will discuss the relevance of AI explainability in later life, as one of the key terms that currently inform EU AI-governance. Dr. Robillard will review findings and gaps from an analysis of international policies for social robots with aging applications. Participants with and without prior policy knowledge or AI research experience are welcome.

Technology and Aging Interest Group Sponsored Symposium

Presentations:

• 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM PST

  Bridging Regulatory Gaps in Direct-to-Consumer Health Monitoring Technologies for Older Adults
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Anita Ho, PhD, MPH (she/her/hers) – University of British Columbia
• 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM PST

  End-User Perspectives on Policies for Social Robotics With Aging Applications
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Julie M. Robillard, PhD (she/her/hers) – University of British Columbia
• 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM PST

  AI Development and Aging Populations: Critical Juncture or Path Dependency? Policy Analysis
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Justyna Monika Stypinska, PhD – WZB Berlin Social Science Center
• 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM PST

  AI Explainability in Long-Term Care: A Sociological Inquiry
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Vera Gallistl, PhD (she/her/hers) – Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences