The Future Normal: Aging Gracefully
5 ways tech will transform the experience of being old.
Spotting trends is easy. Take the aging population. We know it’s coming. Indeed, it’s been in so many trend reports, it’s getting old itself. 👊🏼 🎤💥
Yet hardly anyone (outside of healthcare) does anything about it.1 Why?
My belief – indeed the foundational belief at the heart of The Future Normal – is that data might give you credible answers about what will happen. But it doesn't help you ask the great questions that provoke new perspectives on what you can make happen.
Back to the aging global population. It’s a demographic inevitability. But what the numerical data doesn't capture is just how profoundly the experience of being old will change in the near future.2
For that, it’s more useful to look at innovations. The products and services featured below might be novel today, but they should help you imagine what life will look like for elderly people in a far richer way than simply knowing that “between 2015 and 2050, the proportion of the world's population over 60 years will nearly double from 12% to 22%”.
What if these products became normal? What expectations would these create? What are the second-order implications? And, most importantly – what opportunities could they unlock for you, whichever sector you are in?
1. What if new devices could help reduce or mitigate physical decline?
Glasses are completely unremarkable today. Billions of people wear them to correct their vision. Yet what if the next generation could not just boost your vision but also your hearing? Eyewear giant Luxottica’s conversation-amplifying glasses are aimed at the 1.5 billion people who suffer mild to moderate hearing loss. And they look just like normal glasses!
See also: GyroGlove’s tremor-reducing glove; Whispp’s voice clones, WIM’s wearable walking assistant, Xander’s smart captioning glasses.
2. What if ubiquitous monitoring could alert you to early signs of decline?
Of course even if aging is slowed, there will come a time when people’s bodies and minds start to fail. Zoe Care is a plug which analyzes WiFi signals to detect falls (WiFi signals are slightly disrupted by people’s bodies).
See also: Serenity’s wearable-free fall detection device; Virtuleap’s VR cognitive ability-monitoring and -boosting brain training app; while AI can also detect early signs of Alzheimer’s from speech recordings.
“Inspiring, energetic, and entertaining. Henry's session for 2,000 senior executives from a Fortune 100 healthcare company received the highest rating from the attendees.” SVP Head of Strategy, Cramer Events
3. What if robots could enable people to live independently for longer?
Okay, this one won’t change many people’s lives in 2024, but the industry is moving fast – the opening weeks of this year saw several mind-blowing robot demos, from ALOHA’s mobile robots, to Figure’s coffee-making humanoid to Tesla’s Optimus t-shirt folding.
While not being directly focused on elderly people at all (after all who wouldn’t want a domestic robot helper?!), advanced robotics will trigger a profound transformation of the elderly experience, and the second-order implications (from real estate to retail) of people living at home for longer are epic.3
4. What if AI could help foster social connections?
The dark side of living independently for longer is increased loneliness, which we know is a widespread, yet too-often silent killer. ElliQ positions itself as ‘the sidekick for healthier, happier aging’. The virtual companion robot has its own personality as well as nudging users to connect with their loved ones. Expect to see a boom in devices aimed at the elderly as AI multimodality (voice and vision) makes using them more radically more powerful and easier to use.
See also: the Amazon Alexa-based Homecare app.
Side note: I’m also delighted to share that I’m busy working with Natalia Talkowska on the next iteration of VisuAIse Futures: Healthcare, highlighting 5 people-first AI strategies that will transform the patient and clinician experience. Sign up to get the full report when it launches next month.
Or if you’re working in healthcare and would like a sneak preview of what we’re working on, then DM me – we love feedback 😇
5. What if people can build their own aging support devices?
One second order impact of AI that I’m fascinated by is how it will empower people to solve the issues that matter to them. I wrote about the story of Nolej, an edtech startup whose founder created it after learning to build a brain-controlled exoskeleton for his disabled daughter. The Guardian recently reported how an Indian teenager, Hemesh Chadalavada, used YouTube tutorials and his experiences with his grandmother’s Alzheimer’s to create Alpha Monitor – a wearable monitoring device that is tailored to the local Indian context.
Clearly AI won’t suddenly make everyone a product designer. And as we learned with digital, democratisation enables bad actors and outcomes too. But as AI improves, it’s worth considering – could you encourage elderly audiences to use generative AI to create early-stage prototypes that better address their unmet needs?
Where next?
I’ve focused on technology and devices here. Although in truth, this is just a small part of the future normal for aging. Analogue innovations will have a huge part to play too – for example, what if it became normal for architects to create ‘Blue Zone’ environments that encourage exercise and social connections?
The bigger point remains, however. Data helps you see where things are headed in the future. Innovations inspire you to create better futures.
Which innovations inspire you? And can you create something that inspires the next generation of innovators?
What’s the future normal for YOUR organisation in 2024?
I have delivered 150+ actionable keynotes and workshops for clients in 30+ countries, with consistently exceptional feedback and repeat bookings.
As well as public conferences, I bring leadership teams at the world’s biggest companies – such as J&J, Calvin Klein, HP, Mastercard, and the Tata Group – fresh and relevant perspectives on what’s next.
To discuss your next meeting or event then please reach out directly to Renee Strom or check out my speaking site.
“Henry was recommended to us and he didn't disappoint! [He] spent time to perfectly understand our audience and tailor his talk.” CMO, Thrive
“My go-to speaker for future-gazing grounded in reality is always Henry … free from the BS and hype that's often prevalent in this space!” Founder, MAD/Fest
“Thank you for bringing out-of-the-ordinary ideas to this team of smart, motivated people.” VP, Executive Leadership Development, HP
Thanks for reading,
Henry
This lack of response to ‘obvious’ trends isn’t unique to the aging population trend. Take AI. It was another trend that had been talked about endlessly, but it took DALLE, ChatGPT and others to break the dam and bring it up to the top of every CEO’s agenda.
I’m looking here at the experience of being old. We’ll have to wait and see if any of the billionaire-backed longevity companies like Altos Labs (Bezos), Retro Biosciences (Altman), Unity Biotechnology (Thiel) can help us truly ‘cure’ aging.
Here’s a few thoughts from my Trend Analyst GPT ;)