The World Health Organization released a policy brief aimed at identifying and eliminating ageism from AI technologies' design, development, use and evaluation.
AI technologies have the potential to revolutionize public health and medicine for older people as they can predict health risks and events, enable drug development and support the personalization of care management, but AI may perpetuate ageism that undermines quality of care for older people, according to WHO.
Data used by AI can often be unrepresentative of older people or skewed by ageist stereotypes, prejudice or discrimination. Assumptions of how older people wish to live or interact with technology in their daily lives also limit the design and reach of these technologies, and the way AI technologies are used can reduce intergenerational contact or deepen existing barriers to digital access, according to WHO.
WHO recommends the eight following considerations to ensure that AI technologies for healthcare address ageism:
1. Older people need to be included in the participatory design of AI technologies.
2. Data science teams need to be diverse, encompassing people of all ages.
3. Data collection needs to be age-inclusive.
4. There needs to be more investments in digital infrastructure and digital literacy for older people and their healthcare providers and caregivers.
5. More consideration for the rights of older people to consent and contest.
6. Governance frameworks and regulations need to increase their empowerment and work with older people.
7. More research should be conducted regarding how to avoid bias in AI and how to understand new uses of AI.
8. In the development and application of AI, there needs to be a robust ethics process.