21-07-2025
AI Is Reimagining Retirement, But Who's Plugging It In?
When retirement and aging-in-place meets 'please hold for tech support.'
Living well in retirement isn't just about planning for financial security in older age; it's increasingly about integrating artificial intelligence in your thermostat, your watch, and your medicine cabinet.
The shelves are full. The websites are endless. The power and promise of technology to improve retirement life is profound.
Sensors that detect falls before they happen. Smart pillboxes that chirp when you forget your meds. AI-powered doorbells that recognize faces. Countertop devices that ask if you're okay. Fluffy robot pets that purr for your attention or tell you a joke. Watches that monitor your gait. Wall-mounted devices that listen for silence when there should be sound.
This isn't science fiction. This is where older age meets new technology. Welcome to the world of AgeTech.
Why Aging And Technology Still Don't Connect
I recently wandered into a big-box consumer electronics store, just looking around to see what off-the-shelf technology might offer older consumers or their caregivers. What I found wasn't clarity. It was confusion.
Overhead banners proudly read 'Smart Home.' The displays were blinking and polished. The store associates were friendly. Everything claimed to be simple. But none of it seemed to say, 'Here's something that could give you peace of mind that mom is okay while you're juggling a job and long-distance caregiving,' or 'This might provide convenience today and care for you tomorrow.'
Even after nearly three decades at the MIT AgeLab, working at the intersection of aging and technology, I found myself standing in front of a smart thermostat display wondering: Is this what aging-in-place is supposed to look like?
I went online next, hoping the web's infinite shelf space might offer clarity. Instead, I got the digital equivalent of 1,000 greeters at the front door. Some wore clinical white coats, others friendly cardigans. Some platforms claimed to be a hub to solve 'all your caregiving needs.' Former caregivers offered up a singular device for a single function that connected with nothing I owned. Others swore their wearable was different because it is discreet, fashionable, and FDA-cleared.
All smiled confidently from my screen. None helped me decide what I needed, how it would work in my life, or who would help me install it. There is a broken connection between technology's promise on the lab bench and its actual use in the living room.
It was the consumer journey equivalent of Russian roulette: click, buy, and hope for the best.
The Technology Is Ready. The Experience Is Not
What we're seeing in AgeTech is not a lack of innovation. It's a lack of integration. A failure not in engineering, but in empathy and understanding the context of aging and caregiving. The tools are here. The support is not.
From machine learning and predictive analytics to emotion-aware AI and ambient sensors, the innovations are staggering. According to AARP, the 50-plus are anticipated to be a $120 billion technology market by 2030. AgeTech is projected to double in size from a current market of $1 trillion to $2 trillion. But without trusted support, these tools risk becoming just another unopened box on the kitchen counter.
What's missing is a system that gets this technology out of the box and into the lives of real people.
And by real people, I mean two in particular:
They're not gadget geeks. They're not early adopters. They're not browsing for fun. They're looking because something, like a fall, just happened, or they're afraid it might.
Yet what greets these consumers is a paradox of choice: too many options, too little guidance, and no trusted advisor to lead the way.
Today's adult daughters are not only caregivers, they're Chief Technology Officers of their parents' ... More homes.
Smart Tech Meets Its Biggest Challenge: Retirement Living
Surveys consistently show that the vast majority of people over age 50 want to remain in their own homes for as long as possible.
And so, technology has risen to meet that goal. We now have ambient sensors that detect patterns of daily life and alert loved ones or call centers to deviations. Wearables track everything from steps to oxygen saturation. Platforms offer video visits, medication management, and virtual companionship.
The tools are here. But aging-in-place isn't just about installing devices. It's about building a way of life.
Retirement is no longer an extended vacation. It's potentially 8,000 days, nearly a full third of our adult lives. And that life will increasingly rely on tech not just to entertain or monitor, but to enable.
But here's the challenge: retirement living now requires an IT department.
Who installs the devices? Who explains them? Who updates them? Who makes sure they're still working when the Wi-Fi hiccups? How to pay for it all?
The greatest unmet need in AgeTech is not a new gadget. It is the emergence of a new service profession.
The Most Important Job In Aging Tech Hasn't Been Invented Yet
Too many startups and retailers are introducing unrelated devices into a home technology ecosystem that's missing an instruction manual. We need someone who understands more than gadgets.
There are home security companies that offer some safety features. A highly fragmented home automation installation sector offers smart lighting and entertainment systems, but AgeTech is in addition to, not the focus of, their business. But technology knowledge alone is not enough. To truly optimize the power and potential of AgeTech, a new service business must develop. A service company that provides professionals with a deep understanding of older adults, caregivers, and the real dynamics of retirement living at home.
Call them an AgeTech professional, a longevity tech planner, a caregiving concierge, or a smart home coach. Call them anything. But what we need is someone who can ensure that the systems we buy actually work, work together, reliably, for the long haul.
Imagine if we approached aging and technology the same methodological way we approach retirement financial planning. Not with 'Buy This Thing' ads, but with trained and qualified advisors. Personalized plans. Regular check-ins. Adjustments as necessary. Trust.
Why Aging And Technology Needs More Human Touch
We often talk about aging as a demographic trend or economic issue. But at the center of it are real people trying to live well, live long, and live independently.
And when technology enters that story, whether it's a wearable, a sensor, or a digital companion, it doesn't arrive as a neutral tool. It is first a stranger in someone's daily life and most personal space, their home.
Older adults don't just evaluate technology based on utility and cost. They weigh the safety of a camera watching them against the loss of dignity that comes with less privacy.
Caregivers don't just want data. They want reassurance. They want to know they're doing the right thing. That they're not alone. And that the tech they choose helps them rather than adds to their already long list of things to manage.
That's why AgeTech isn't just about the device. It's about the service. Ultimately, it's about providing a solution.
From the moment someone realizes they need help, through installation, learning, troubleshooting, and eventual updating, technology in older age is a profoundly human journey.
The Next AgeTech Killer App Will Come With A Smile
The AgeTech revolution is real. The technology that is coming is astonishing. But it risks stalling not because the tech isn't good, but because no one is there to plug it in, literally and figuratively.
The next great breakthrough in the longevity economy may not be a smarter robot. The next killer app will likely arrive in a van with a trusted, universally recognized brand, in a uniform, deliver a smile, be patient and understanding, and be an expert in all things aging and technology.
Because in retirement living, the real innovation isn't a gadget or form of artificial intelligence. The next big thing is trusted, human-centered service.
