Towards an Ageless Computing Ecosystem

In the 21st Century, the world faces a unique challenge – global aging. The simultaneous manifestation of this challenge in so many countries is unprecedented and will have major social and economic ramifications. The impending tsunami of silver populations also presents unique opportunities for forward thinking nations and businesses. These elderly citizens command major purchasing power, and possess invaluable knowledge, wisdom and skills accumulated over many years. Countries and businesses which develop and adopt innovative technologies to allow elderly citizens to continue making important contributions to society will derive enormous benefits. In this paper, we analyze how computing technologies can be used to help us build an ageless society in the future. We identify six major challenges facing today’s elderly populations and propose six corresponding research directions in computing technologies. A vision for forming an ageless computing ecosystem that serves the needs of the elderly and other stakeholders is proposed based on this analysis. Keyword: population aging, ageless computing, age-friendly, ecosystem.