The progressive ageing of our society and the so-called „care crisis“ pose serious challenges for our care system. New, AI-based technologies appear to offer solutions to these challenges. They could improve the working conditions of professional carers, support family caregivers in their tasks and, above all, make a positive contribution to the quality of life of those affected. At the same time, the introduction and use of new technologies is also viewed with skepticism. These technologies could also create new problems, particularly in the sensitive field of care and even more so when working with people with dementia: Care jobs could be cut in order to increase economic efficiency, and those affected could be overwhelmed in many ways by the use of the aids. Ethical questions must also be asked about the development and use of new technologies: What impact do the various systems have, for example, on the self-determination and privacy of those affected and on the relationship between them and their carers?
In order to shed as much light as possible on the aspects only hinted at here, two of the sub-projects were dedicated to the technical requirements and the involvement of various stakeholders (patients, relatives, carers) in the development process. These two sub-projects dealt with the ethical aspects of the development and use of new technologies in the field of dementia care. They examined the existing attitudes towards them among those affected and their relatives as well as among professional carers and experts from various fields involved with assistance systems. They also looked at the ethical concepts of privacy and empowerment and asked what impact the new technologies could have on these concepts in care.
The EIDEC Project Consortium
