We hear so much about AI, (Artificial Intelligence) these days, I wondered what impact, if any, it was having on senior accommodation.
I thought I’d give my friend Alex a call. He and I were in high school together and played on the same hockey team. He was always heavily involved with computers and after graduation he went on to study computer programming at the local technical school.
During those school years everyone sought out Alex if they had a problem with their computers. After graduation he went to work, out of town, at the head office of a large retail chain, as their computer specialist. We kept in touch.
I gave him a call and asked about seniors and AI. After all, many “Baby Boomers” are coming of age and it’s expected they are going to swell the ranks of the senior cohort just as they have with every age group over the years.
There is no question that they are also very computer savvy and just like they changed the way we dressed and the music we listened to, they will likely change the way we retire as well. In fact, it’s been my experience that even now they are looking at retirement through very different eyes than their parents.
I asked Alex to explain how AI works. He laughed and said, “OK, let’s keep it simple. When you get in your car and want to go somewhere you either type in or say where it is you want to go. Your dashboard information centre responds by providing you with three or four choices – the scenic route, the fastest route or the run of the mill route, and as you travel it even provides information on traffic congestion and lengths of expected wait times.”
“All the information they gather and project is from satellites, and their reports are based on artificial intelligence (AI) programs called algorithms.”
“If I were in a business that was heavily dependent on traffic volume, like a gasoline service station, or fast food outlet, I could set up an algorithm to use the same data to tell me where the heaviest traffic intersected in certain areas and where the most convenient stopping points where along the route, so that I could locate my facility in the most advantageous spot. Similarly, I can see where the typical purchaser, after looking over a selection of dishwashers online, chooses a particular style and brand of appliance.”
“That’s what AI is,” Alex explained, “It gathers a vast amount of data, based on information sometimes from personal contacts which can be accessed, like it does when using satellite-based positioning systems in vehicles.”
“In a retail setting that data is used to provide the purchaser with the information they are seeking, but it also tells the vendor what you and possibly many others want to purchase.”
“Like buying clothing online in the retail field, AI is designed to help you find just what you want and are looking for. It helps the consumer narrow down a wide selection to get just what he or she wants or needs.”
“But, it’s also a great marketing tool for the vendor of the merchandise, and good for their business as well. AI not only helps increase sales but reduces product returns as well.”
“But keep in mind,” Alex cautioned, “It’s one thing to deal with vehicular directions using satellites, but quite another when dealing with information obtained from people, particularly when it involves sensitive or confidential information such as with financial, medical, or legal issues that a person may reveal when looking for a retirement home.”
“A high degree of confidentiality and privacy is involved which always should be respected and adhered to when collecting and reporting on matters involving AI. Unfortunately, few laws have been enacted to make this mandatory, but they’re coming.”
“As we know, for many years, large department stores dominated the retail field in Canada. They had large department stores in every major city in Canada. But, today they are only a distant memory because they failed to keep up with changing consumer trends and eventually went out of business. Perhaps if AI had existed then, they would still be with us, but management in general became fixed in a style of business that didn’t keep pace with the times.”
Alex cleared his throat and went on, “It wasn’t that the consumer no longer existed. It’s just that their business or marketing plan no longer fit what the consumer wanted. As time passed, computer driven businesses came along and filled the gap and now gross billions of dollars in sales because they provide merchandise in a form that consumers want and when and how they want it. By using AI, companies are now able to identify changes in the market more quickly.”
Alex continued, “AI can be a powerful marketing tool and its use by the retirement industry could be a plus. It’s a hard fact of business that organizations either provide the goods and services consumers want or they soon go out of business. Retirement homes, as we presently know them, are no exception.”
I interjected that from the people I have spoken to, they are not looking to spend their remaining years playing bridge and watching TV.
For example, a friend of mine mentioned a retirement community on the Coast, that has a marina with a fully equipped boathouse, which is at the resident’s disposal. There is another that’s built around a golf course. In addition, an architect friend of mine is looking for a sort of ‘time share’ retirement community, where he and his wife could spend part of the year in Rome, Paris or London.
In Japan, there is even a home that’s part of a market garden where the residents serve customers, help with stocking the shelves or working in the gardens producing the vegetables sold in the shop.
It takes little imagination to think of used book shops or stores selling items made and sold by the residents. If that’s what the residents want to do to keep engaged with their community, why not?
Retirement homes have evolved over the years and will continue to do so in line with the consumer wants and desires. In many cases, AI will be of great assistance to retirement home providers, just as the modern auto satellite-based information does in their vehicles.
If asked, AI can respond by letting you know if you are on the right road to finding a suitable retirement facility and how to get there.
Robert B. Hulley, is a retired Real Estate Counsellor, and a Past President of the Canadian Branch of the American Society of Real Estate Counsellors, (CRE). He is also the recipient of the 2014 Eric Arthur Lifetime Achievement Award provided by the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario.
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