A panel of experts found on Thursday that organizations working in the elderly care sector are already using artificial intelligence, whether they are aware of it or not.
“It is important for long-term care providers to be informed about the tools available and their potential impact on care and operations – for better or for worse,” added panelists, representatives of providers and industry partners, during McKnight’s virtual Meeting of the Minds event.
Many providers are unaware that AI, even simple AI, has been used in elder care for some time, said Scott Code, vice president of the LeadingAge Center for Aging Services Technologies. It is embedded in electronic health record systems and built into safety technologies that provide fall detection or prevention and gait analysis, he said. Even marketing teams are using it, he added.
“Many vendors don’t really understand or grasp the idea of AI because it’s such a big, comprehensive topic,” Code said. “On the other hand, there’s intense marketing around AI – everything is AI-enabled.”
AI models, he said, could combine data on residents’ activities — related to food, social engagement, safety, medical records — opening doors to various tools that staff could use to organize a concierge service for residents.
“When you integrate advanced language models into advanced products, seniors will be able to communicate with them seamlessly, and then we’ll have context for operators,” said panelist Brian Geyser, APRN-BC, MSN, vice president of health and wellness at Maplewood Senior Living and Inspir Senior Living. “It will understand the company, the culture, the people, and be able to communicate with employees and seniors. And it’s coming very soon.”
LeadingAge CAST is working on resources to generate interest among providers, Code said, adding that it is developing use cases based on different roles within senior services organizations.
One way to get vendors comfortable with large language models — deep learning algorithms that can recognize, summarize, translate, predict and generate content from very large data sets — is to explore how to use them in ways that have a “transformative impact” on the daily tasks of individuals, he said. It’s general-purpose technology, Code said, so there’s no manual — people learn by using it and determining what benefit it can or cannot bring to a business. AI is good for some purposes, but not others, he said.
“There’s a lot going on in a lot of different areas,” Code said. “It’s not necessarily new, but the development of large language models has made everyone pay more attention to this area.”
AI in senior living
Geyser said his organization recognizes that the pioneering models are creating superintelligent systems with the goal of achieving artificial general intelligence, or AGI. Such systems, he said, understand and apply knowledge in a variety of tasks at human levels or beyond. Given the rapid pace at which AGI is being achieved, companies need to think about what that means for them, Geyser said.
“One of our goals is to make our organization super intelligent,” Geyser said, adding that most organizations have intelligent systems that provide insights, but such systems still require humans to create and interpret reports. Incorporating AI into the mix, he added, can kick an organization “into overdrive.”
One of the fundamental elements of a fully unified data ecosystem is to extract data from all the systems used by the different departments within an organization – marketing, HR, accounting, etc. – and bring that data together in a centralized infrastructure and embed AI there to create a place where people can interact with the systems much more intelligently.
“At the highest level, we’re trying to create a truly super-intelligent organization that combines enterprise intelligence, AI and human intelligence to create a fully integrated, very intelligent organization of the future,” Geyser said, adding that his company is looking for use cases for AI in every department – and that can be scary. “There’s a certain level of ignorance about what AI is and what it’s going to do in the future. There are legitimate fears about that.”
Donald F. Breneman, chief operating officer of Juniper Communities, said his company experienced those fears firsthand when it introduced service robots in its dining halls. Residents cried and were upset about the possibility of robots replacing staff. Through education and reassurance, he added, residents understood that the robots gave staff more time to engage and interact with them directly at the table and that their use reduced the burden on staff.
Their presence can also provide a competitive advantage, Breneman said. Juniper stands out in this space with a high-tech, high-touch approach, he said, adding that the organization is interested in expanding its use of the technology through its Catalyst program — a membership-based health and wellness program — by offering an AI-powered universal assessment to create a hyper-personalized experience for residents.
“We’re very invested in the resident experience,” Geyser said, adding that the company uses data to create a “lifestyle prescription” for residents. “AI is part of that and has allowed us to start capturing what I think is important revenue for services that may have been missed, but also improve the overall resident experience.”
Where should I start
Geyser said it is important for companies to develop a governance structure that includes building standards, security measures, best practices and access controls to protect data. Organizations, he added, must strike a balance between having a culture that gives employees the opportunity to explore, experiment and be curious, while also protecting proprietary or confidential information.
When care providers select potential technology partners, it’s important that those vendors be transparent about what data they use and how they use it, said Don Glidewel, founder and CEO of Blue Purpose. He suggested that the companies conduct annual third-party audits.
Human conscience is still important
Code said it’s important to understand that AI models deliver content based on inherent cultural biases and that the AI will try to generate an answer that the user likes. But the problem is that the answer may not be the truth. The unpredictable nature of AI means individuals need to be the “human in the loop” and act responsibly and ethically, he said.
Most initiatives to adopt new technologies start at the top of an organization, according to Code, but large language models are not a typical technology. These models are freely available, he added, and more people are starting to use them on their own, so it’s important that companies establish policies and guardrails around when and how to use them appropriately.
Geyser recommends that every organization have a policy for the responsible use of AI systems. Generative AI tools are available to everyone, and an employee could easily upload proprietary or protected company documents, images, and spreadsheets, putting the organization at risk.
AI can help generate ideas, he added, but there needs to be guidelines with concrete examples so people know what is appropriate and what is not.
