Up to Speed.

Notes from Aging Into the Future

Yesterday, in our continued efforts to bring the latest and greatest to Beatitudes Campus, our Success Matters team attended the Aging Into the Future Tech + Aging Conference & Expo in Los Angeles. We rounded out this day of hard work with a ride to dinner in a Tesla (someone has to do it).

(just don't call her Jesla...)

This was a full day of speakers, resources, and "hands-on" demonstrations that focused on improving the lives of older people through technology. Whether this meant a self-driving car or a shoe that puts itself on your foot (goodbye shoehorn!) enthusiasm was the word of the day.

Three highlights:

Speaker Ashton Applewhite really hit a home run when it comes to identifying and naming the ways ageism affects our society. Her Opening Keynote address reflected the ideas found in her popular book, This Chair Rocks, as well as in her 2017 TED Talk about ageism.
Front Porch Center for Innovation and Wellbeing. Front Porch is a "not-for-profit family of companies and partnerships." They operate older adult communities, but they also focus on developing ways to make our lives better. The Center for Innovation is one of their projects. We heard from them about how their Amazon Alexa pilot program is working in their Carlsbad by the Sea community, as well as their "It's Never 2 Late" (iN2L) technology that promotes social connections and programming for older adults of all abilities.
ElliQ, which we highlighted last year in our Success Matters newsletter, (Technology Edition), is still the frontrunner in promising voice technology platforms. She (yes, "she"!) won the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show Award for Best in Innovation Technologies. Whether it's staying engaged with family by sharing pictures of the grandkids, or offering appointment reminders, music, and other programming, ElliQ prides herself on intuitive use and sharing capabilities.

For a more in-depth look at the ever-changing world of technology and aging, check out this 2019 AARP Tech Trends and the 50+Survey.