The traditional life model—school, work, retire at 65—was designed when average lifespan was around 69 years in 1950. Now it's 83 years, with 4.5 million Australians aged 65 or older (17% of the population) and another 15–20 years ahead of them after retirement. Most Australians actually retire around 64, while the minimum age for access to pension is at 67.

This week I came across an interesting article in TIME magazine about redesigning around longevity rather than treating it as a problem to manage. It's American-focused, but the pattern holds across the Western world: people retire with decades left, often without clear purpose, mounting healthcare costs, and institutional structures—education, employment, housing—that still assume old age is brief and uniform.

The article covers what's already working. Universities integrating seniors into campus life as mentors and students. Companies retaining older workers instead of mandating retirement. Multigenerational housing that keeps older people connected to their communities instead of segregated in facilities. It's a rounded look at how different countries and institutions are rethinking the three-stage life model—and why longer lives require different structures, instead of stretched-out versions of what we've always done.

Last week's newsletter’s intro on the economics of death generated some interesting conversations. Several readers wrote back discussing different approaches to death, which sent me down a rabbit hole into how different countries are responding to a related problem: isolated older people, often dying alone.

Two takes from Singapore and China.

A social service in Singapore announced plans to "bring back the village spirit" by training volunteers to check on isolated elderly neighbours. They're actually paying the volunteers around $11 AUD an hour to do it. According to this article, what may have triggered it was the fact that 33 seniors died alone in Singapore in 2025, their bodies discovered long after they passed.

In China where I am currently located, "Are You Dead Yet" became the top paid app - 20c buys you a lifetime of daily button-taps that email your emergency contact if you miss two consecutive days. The app went viral partly because of its name, but also because it addresses a reality, the fact that 25% of households now consist of one person, up from 14.5% a decade earlier. Developers said that over 60 investors have contacted them, some offering hundreds of thousands of dollars for a stake, and the app has now increased its price to around $2 as a one-off payment.

What is Australia doing?

Meanwhile, Australia has the ACVVS - the Aged Care Volunteer Visitors Scheme*, a Commonwealth-funded program that connects volunteer visitors with isolated older people in nursing homes and their own homes. I've seen how it works in practice, particularly MCCSA's program in SA. The stories that come back aren't about welfare checks. They're about people who connected over their love for desserts. Someone who started tending their garden again because their volunteer visitor asked for cuttings. The ACVVS works because it's built for connection. Safety monitoring happens as a side effect.

One system pays neighbours $11 an hour. Another charges people $2 to prove they're alive. The ACVVS runs on genuine volunteerism and builds relationships that address isolation itself. Australia has a model that actually works - the kind Singapore is trying to recreate with paid volunteers, and the kind China's Gen-Z developers have already moved past in favour of an app. We have something worth celebrating, and more importantly, worth protecting.

Tuesday 10 March, 12–1pm AEDT | Online | Free

Board members, CEOs, and managers have been asking the questions: How do we actually use ChatGPT for documentation? What happens if staff upload resident data? How do we implement AI without triggering compliance issues?

So I brought together the people who can actually answer them.

This panel includes:

I'm genuinely excited about this one. It's rare to have the regulator perspective, the provider experience, and the technical expertise in the same (online) room—ready to answer your questions directly.

If you're responsible for AI decisions at your organisation and want practical answers instead of speculation, this session is for you.

Submit your questions simply by replying to this email.

Wednesday 11 March, 12–1:30pm AEDT | Online | Free

I'm presenting alongside Elena Muller in this session on how providers can prepare for the demographic and technological shifts reshaping aged care.

My segment covers how AI and operational technology can help home care providers grow and adapt as client expectations and workforce realities outpace traditional service models.

Elena will unpack how migration patterns and evolving consumer expectations across cultural groups will reshape service delivery, workforce requirements, and operations over the next two decades.

This session is designed for providers working with culturally diverse communities—or planning to.

A study examined how older adults actually live with monitoring technologies over time, rather than how they react to a short trial or demonstration. Eight residents in long-term care settings, with and without dementia, used fall-monitoring technologies continuously for nine to twelve months before being interviewed. The truth is that most research relies on pilots, or usability tests, so I see benefit in this study that focused on experienced users who had incorporated monitoring into daily life, routines, and self-perception.

The sample is admittedly quite small, but their key finding is pragmatic acceptance. Monitoring did not undermine identity or autonomy and was valued especially when it supported staying put and triggered real human response. Passive systems were preferred, while effort-heavy devices were rejected. Some participants were disappointed when monitoring ended, showing that reassurance grows over time. All in all, an interesting read.

Fitbit, the company behind the wearable health trackers, just announced a single app called Luffu, designed to monitor health data across an entire family, tracking everything from kids' health to older parents’ medication schedules, and even the pet’s vaccinations and vet appointments. The app pulls together medical info that's typically stored across separate apps, health portals, test results etc., alerting users when something looks off. The app’s AI is able to answer questions about family members' health and lets people enter updates through voice recording, photos, or text. A public beta waitlist is now open. This marks a significant shift in health monitoring, from single users to families.

University of Illinois researchers found that older adults struggle to get tech help because they're either too vague ("my email isn't working"), too verbose (explaining every step they took), or use the wrong terminology. They used AI to ask clarifying questions and translate the problem into technical language. The rephrased queries doubled the accuracy of solutions and Google searches. Also, younger adults better understood AI-rephrased queries (94% vs 66%), showing the “translation” actually works. I feel this is important beyond tech. By embedding AI in service delivery, providers and services could help older adults articulate health symptoms, access services, or explain their frustrations more effectively.

Last week I needed a photo for a conference I'm presenting at later this year, so I experimented with AI-based photo manipulation. I'm sharing the prompt that worked best—it transformed an ordinary photo I uploaded into one with a professional-looking background whilst keeping my face unchanged.

I used ChatGPT, though Nano Banana also worked well (it did make me look slightly younger, which you may or may not want). Feel free to edit the prompt to suit your needs before using it.

The prompt:

Edit this image to match the following specification: Framing Portrait orientation, 4:5 Crop from mid-chest to just above head, Head centred horizontally, Eye line at upper third of frame. Camera Simulation Full-frame camera look 85mm lens f/4 aperture look, No wide-angle distortion. Lighting Single large softbox, 45° camera left, slightly above eye level Soft fill from camera right at ~30% intensity Soft shadows, even exposure. Background Flat studio backdrop Warm light grey (approx RGB 235, 235, 235) No texture or gradient Colour Daylight white balance (~5600K) Neutral skin tones Mild contrast No cinematic grading or HDR. NO retouching. Preserve age lines and facial structure. No reshaping. Output Professional corporate headshot. No filters, no stylisation.

Example with stock photography:

Thursday 26 February, 12–4pm AEDT | Online | Free

A half-day symposium for CHSP executives and HR leaders focused on recruitment and retention. The session challenges common assumptions about the aged care workforce and presents evidence-based trends, economic impacts, and practical strategies.

I will be presenting on Practical AI Adoption for Under-Resourced Teams, outlining a tiered approach to AI adoption for CHSP providers.

Each week, I review developments in ageing and aged care and what they mean in practice. If this was useful, forward it to someone in the sector who'd appreciate it.

George Gouzounis