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Focus on AI and its users

Currently the risks of Artificial Intelligence (AI) are discussed intensively. This discussion focuses mainly on technical aspects or on internal technical processes which may give AI unforeseen super powers. The fears are that AI may become more intelligent than humans, emerge as an independent agent with its own agenda, force us into something we do not want to be, lead evolution in a radically different direction, and possibly transform the whole universe. Although we cannot to rule out these risks, and because we want to do something to eliminate the risks, we would need to look to other conditions than the exclusively technical features, which may be playing an important role in causing these concerns about a very powerful AI.

Let us first see what we expect from AI, and what AI actually does. AI, as it is designed and used today, provides answers to problems and delivers products and services. All our efforts to develop AI tools and systems aim to support their ability to solve problems we humans have, and to satisfy our needs. All interest around AI is concentrated on achievement of goals, solutions of problems, and satisfaction of needs. This is what we expect AI to deliver and we design it accordingly.

If we now turn our focus on ourselves and try to see how we manage to handle our problems we can identify a certain tool we have for this purpose. It seems that thinking is the biological tool for achieving goals, solving problems, and satisfying needs. However, this is not something we like so much to use. For us it is not easy to reason in a rational way, and it is even less easy to control the process of thinking even though we are conscious about the high value of right thinking. For us as persons it is necessary to have the skill to run a rational thinking process and the emotional strength to takeresponsibility for our own decisions. But if we try to reason in a rational way, we need to put great effort in this, concentrate our focus and spend a lot of energy. We have also to postpone making the decision and proceeding to action until we can come to a conclusion and find a suitable answer to the problem at hand. On top of these difficulties is the feeling of responsibility and the anxiety that follows with it when one knows that if something goes wrong there is no one else to blame but oneself.

Rational thinking

Suppose now that we, despite all these difficulties and costs in energy and time, still make the effort to think rationally in order to find the answer to the problem we have in front of us. Will we achieve a satisfying result? The answer is unfortunately “maybe”. So, the optimal solution cannot be guaranteed through the adoption of a rational, philosophical or scientific approach. Not in the real world, compared to an ideal or metaphysical world (see for example the discussion on the application of the categorical imperative in real life). The fact is that in real world non-rational ways of handling are successful very often. This has been studied empirically in psychology of human cognition and it is the so-called heuristic. In philosophy we have the Aristotelian habits, which also function very well.

Why should we then adopt the rational way of handling our problems given all the difficulties and the fact that we may still come to a wrong conclusion and action? When we also know that not so autonomous ways of thinking have a great chance to give us a satisfying solution? So, most of the time we do not adopt rational thinking.

AI can strengthen this. We have already seen the effects of technology on our thinking. For example, during the early times of Internet in the world many of us were enthusiastic about its potential to give us access to all kinds of information, especially information contradictory to our beliefs and certainties. We were seriously expecting it to have a healthy impact on thinking. Unfortunately, that proved to be wrong. Instead of promoting doubt and dialog it allowed people to look for and connect with other like-minded people in order, not to examine and falsify their beliefs, but to confirm what they already are convinced is true. Another aspect worth consideration is that algo- rithms, e.g. in social media, suggest links which are supposed to be in accordance with what the user likes.

Design and application of AI

The design and use of AI follows the same path. We create it in order to give us answers, not to ask questions that dispute our wishes or beliefs. We expect it to give us the products or the services we need. We want AI as a tool for the satisfaction of our needs, as our thinking is, but a biological one. The key point here is that advanced AI is or will be an immensely better tool. Will it then replace thinking?

A great risk is that this will happen. Unless we change focus in the design and use of AI: from the answers, or products or services provided, to the process leading to these results. An AI designed to help us use our thinking in order to find the answers and to produce the things we need, is something different than using AI to deliver the answers and the products directly to us. We can imagine AI as a partner in an ongoing dialog.

First and foremost, we have to be highly conscious about the difficulty of such a plan. For example, we have already seen how Internet is used, meaning that the same may happen with the use of AI. But if we want to use AI as a support tool for our thinking, to help us run the process of thinking in the right way, we have first to ask the question whether this is possible at all. Are we able to accept or at least tolerate something that disturbs our state of mind and makes us doubt our convictions? Especially when we know very well that this same tool can deliver to us the best possible answers to our problems, and give us satisfaction, harmony and happiness?

This seems to be a very difficult plan to design and apply. However, it is pos- sible to think that a compromise may give it a bigger chance. A compromise that is in accordance with the real-life use of thinking. We are never perfect philosophers, scien- tists or democrats. We cut corners and we use heuristics, but still, we manage somehow to reach our goals and to satisfy our needs. Then, what about an AI that sometimes and when there is no other better alternative because of the high demands of the problem at hand, support us to think in a rational way? But also, an AI that most often support us in finding and using the best possible heuristics and habits?

Demographic Change and Independent Living

Nowadays, we globally face demographic change caused by aging populations. Japan and Sweden, the two countries examined in this study, are no exception. Life expectancy in both is among the highest in the world: Approximately 83 years old in Sweden and 84 years old in Japan. Demographic aging and other structural changes will increase social expenditures, such as medical costs and public pension spending.

By 2040, around 25 percent of the Swedish population will be 65 or older, and many in this age group will be active and healthy for a considerable period of their older years Japan faces a similar demographic trend; it is estimated that by 2040, the population aged 65 and over will constitute approximately 35 percent of the total population. As the population ages and social security costs rise, supporting independent living becomes a pressing issue in the care sector. For older people, beinghealthy and living independently is essential for maintaining a sufficient quality of life and establishing a sustainable and participatory relationship with communities and society. However, physical weakness and declining cognitive abilities can make it difficult to live a completely independent life. Therefore, support for independent living enables older people to maximise their independence.

Support for independent living among older adults encompasses a range of services and assistance, extending beyond formal care services provided by public institutions to include informal support from family members, irrespective of co-residence. Publicly available formal services encompass home care services and home medical care. Home care services, designed to enable older adults to maximise independent living within their homes, involve visits from home care workers (referred to as “home helpers” in Japan and “Hemtjänst” in Sweden). These professionals provide a range of support, including assistance with activities of daily living (ADL) such as eating, excretion, and bathing (physical care), as well as instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) such as cleaning, laundry, shopping, and cooking (lifestyle assistance). Furthermore, specialised care businesses offer services such as transportation assistance to medical appointments, including support with boarding, transferring, and alighting from vehicles. Home care services are tailored to individual needs, with the content and scope of services varying based on the degree of required assistance. A collaborative process involving the care recipient, their family, and a care manager determines the specific care needs, culminating in the development of a personalised care plan. The governments of both countries are prioritising policies that promote independent living among older adults to reduce social welfare costs and address the shortage of elderly care services.

The Role of Technology in Independent Living for Older Adults

Digital technology and artificial intelligence (AI) are revolutionising elderly home care, empowering aging individuals to maintain independence while enhancing safety and well-being. Wearable devices and health-monitoring tools track vital signs in real-time, enabling early detection of health issues and reducing the need for frequent doctor visits. AI-powered virtual assistants and chatbots provide personalised care, from medication reminders and exercise encouragement to combating loneliness through com- panionship. Robots and AI-driven devices assist with daily tasks, including mobility sup- port, meal preparation, and home safety monitoring.

Smart home technology, exemplified by companies like Careium in Sweden, uses internet-connected devices to monitor seniors’ environments and alert caregivers to potential problems, such as falls or prolonged inactivity. Telemedicine is another significant advancement, allowing seniors to have video consultations with healthcare professionals, reducing the need for in-person visits. Telemedicine platforms, like Min Doktor and Livi, allow seniors to consult remotely with healthcare professionals, making care access easier. AI-powered fall detection devices (e.g., Safe Hub, Doro) automatically alert caregivers or emergency services, while robotic assistants like ElliQ offer companionship, medication reminders, and encourage physical activity. AI-driven predictive health monitoring tools (e.g., Pilloxa) help ensure medication ad- herence and predict potential health risks by analysing individual data patterns. Cognitive health apps (e.g., MindMate) support individuals with dementia through mem- ory exercises and daily reminders. Virtual reality platforms are also utilised to combat social isolation, offering engaging experiences like virtual travel and social interaction.

While Sweden’s approach focuses on direct benefits for seniors, Japan empha- sises supporting caregivers. For example, Panasonic’s digital care management service uses IoT monitoring to provide valuable data insights for care plan development, while NEC offers remote training for care professionals to address staffing shortages and improve care quality. These digital tools and AI technologies hold immense potential to transform elderly home care, promoting independence, enhancing safety and well-being, and supporting family caregivers, leading to more sustainable and compassionate care solutions for aging populations.

The Ethical and Practical Considerations of Digital Technology and AI in Aged Care at Home

While IT tools and AI offer significant benefits for elderly care at home, there are several risks, medical as well as ethical, that need to be considered. One major concern is privacy and data security. As wearable devices, sensors, and AI-driven solutions collect sensitive health data, there is the potential for data breaches or unauthorised access, putting personal information at risk. Ensuring robust encryption and secure stor- age of this data is critical. Another risk involves the reliability and accuracy of the technology. AI systems and monitoring devices may malfunction or provide incorrect data, leading to false alarms or missed health issues. This could result in unnecessary stress for caregivers or, conversely, delay timely intervention for the elderly.

Additionally, technology may not be fully accessible to all seniors, especially those with limited digital literacy or cognitive impairments, potentially exacerbating existing inequalities in access to care. Over-reliance on technology could reduce the human element of caregiving. While AI can offer assistance, it cannot replace the emotional connection and personalised care that human caregivers provide. Balancing technology with human involvement is essential to ensure that elderly individuals receive comprehen- sive, compassionate care.

It is therefore important to consider how technology can be leveraged to provide family members with the skills and support they need as caregivers. Many dedicated family caregivers lack formal training in medical or caregiving tasks. The integration of IT and AI tools can offer substantial support. These tools provide both training re- sources and real-time assistance to enhance caregiving.

Digital platforms and mobile applications offer self-paced training modules that teach family caregivers how to handle basic medical tasks like administering medi- cation, checking vital signs, or using medical devices. These tools provide step-by-step in- structions and videos to improve caregiver competence. Additionally, AI-powered virtual assistants and chatbots can guide family members in daily caregiving routines, providing reminders for medications, doctor’s appointments, or physical exercises, ensuring that important tasks are not forgotten. Remote monitoring systems, such as wearable devices or in-home sensors, help caregivers keep track of the elderly person’s health metrics in real time, such as heart rate, activity levels, or sleep patterns. AI can analyse this data to detect potential health risks, like falls or abnormal vital signs, and alert caregivers immediately. This proactive approach enables early intervention and reduces the stress of constant surveillance. Telemedicine and virtual consultations provide caregivers with direct access to healthcare professionals for advice and guidance without needing to leave home. Family members can discuss concerns, clarify medical instructions, or receiveexpert opinions, ensuring proper care.

Emotional support is also vital, and AI tools can assist here by offering stress-re- lief strategies, such as guided meditation programs, or even companionship through virtual pets or social interaction platforms for both caregivers and the elderly. By combining training, monitoring, and support, IT and AI tools may empower family members to deliver safe, effective care, reducing the burden and enhancing the quality of life for everyone involved.

Digital technology and AI hold immense potential to transform elderly care, promoting independent living, improving safety and well-being, and supporting family caregivers. However, realising this potential requires careful attention to the ethical and practical considerations discussed, including privacy concerns, data security, technological reliability, and equitable access. A balanced approach that integrates technology with human-centred care, prioritising the emotional and social needs of older adults, is essential for creating sustainable and compassionate solutions. Future research can work on developing best practices for ethical implementation and ensuring that technology empowers both older adults and their caregivers.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to provide answers, products, and services of increasing quality for the satisfaction of our needs. However, AI entails certain risks, some very serious, e.g., the risk of human enslavement or even extinction. In order to handle this ethical and sustainability issue properly, we need to ask questions about what we really want, what is our real goal, and what we really are. Classical philosophy defines us as thinking entities, and the main problem is the issue of how to think in the right way as persons or as groups and societies. Accordingly, the design and use of AI as a tool to support our thinking process may be the right way to take advantage of the possibilities AI offers. However, if we design and use AI as a provider of answers, services, and products, as we currently do, the risk is that an incessantly advanced AI will swiftly replace our thinking and by that undermine our existence.

In this chapter, we will try to find ways to overcome the so-called techno-determinism which seems to influence our life in the informatized environments. In the first half of this chapter, we will critically examine the generally accepted belief that mathematics is related to reality as a static and fixed form. We will see that mathematics is rather a plural matter including human intention, the procedures to rewrite the relation between the complex functions as the original problem, and the calculated solutions as the potential answers or so. In this sense, the belief about mathematics as a fixed truth is not stable anymore. This suggests the techno-determinism itself is not stable anymore, either. In the last half of this chapter, we will see the work of a kind of horizon enabling us to interpret matters in life not as remnants of mathematical and scientific truths. We will do this by examining our qualitative and quantitative research in Japan, Sweden, and other countries. Our research show that the robots and other technological products will encounter with us on a kind of horizon in our life where things and matters seem to remain in the form of un-differentiated situations or ‘oneness.’

Ageing society, labour shortages in the care sector and increasing social security costs havebecome serious social problems in many countries. Sweden and Japan are, of course, noexception in this respect. In order to alleviate this situation, both countries have implementedvarious policies in different social areas, as well as promoting digitalisation and introducingcare robots in the healthcare sector. While older people are generally considered to be reluctantto adapt to new technologies, in both Japan and Sweden, the digital integration of older peopleis higher than in other countries. In the near future, care robots or robotic care would becomemore common in the care sector in both countries. This study examines how people in bothcountries perceive robots and autonomous artefacts and how they construct relationships withthese artefacts, based on the results of two surveys, one conducted in Japan 2020, and anotherin Sweden 2019, and elucidates the relationship between humans and robots from an ethicalperspective. The research findings show that people’s orientation toward the search for theexistential meaning and their complex emotions related to ephemerality and transience canaffect the relationship between humans and robots. Furthermore, this study is a new attempt toincorporate a 'care' perspective into technology ethics.

The need for ethics education in technology curricula is universally recognized. The difficult question is how to deploy this principle into the real universities’ courses. This paper introduces a methodology based on multiple approaches: pneumatophores (computer experts with a high ethical profile), stakeholders’ network (the analysis of the complex relationships among the many stakeholders of a digital complex system) and a psychological awareness (the personal skills needed by responsible designers of digital complex systems). All these approaches are currently used in computer ethics courses with encouraging positive results from students.

In this paper, we examine the meanings of robots and AI artifacts in our societies and cultures, in particular the question: ‘How do Japanese people and Western people understand and interpret the phenomena and problems happening around them such as human–robot interaction, the encounter with AI, especially regarding plurality of meanings and wholeness of life experience in the information era?’ This is a kind of topic of information ethics or IIE (intercultural information ethics) in a broad sense. We focus our attention on world views in the informatized environments by examining the related views and theories as well as our own empirical research. In addition to these points, we will compare Japanese survey data with data from other cultural–social traditions and we will examine how the Japanese ways of seeing matters and their emphasis on the matters in process of awareness can be considered to have potentially universal connotations.

This paper is concentrated on the ethics education for computer scientists. They are the future  computer professionals, one of the core nodes of the Infornation and Communication Technologies (ICT) stakeholders' network. The paper is organized in five sections: a general introduction to the subject with a short review of the several approaches to this kind of education, a basic description of the theoretical foundations for ethics education, an overview of the proposed methodology, a short summary of the results from the field experience, and a conclusion.