The fastest aging country in the world is facing a “dementia tsunami” that a chatbot has also begun to combat.
South Korea is currently the fastest aging country in the world. Therefore, it is turning to artificial intelligence to face one of the biggest social challenges in its history: caring for an increasingly large and often isolated elderly population.
AI-based systems are being used to monitor elderly people who live alone, detect medical emergencies, combat loneliness and even help prevent dementia, reads an article from .
The New York newspaper reports the case of Chung Yun-hee, 77, a resident of the outskirts of Seoul. In late 2024, the woman woke up in severe pain and vomiting, unable to call for help. Shortly afterwards, he received a call from “Talking Buddy”a chatbot created by the South Korean technology company Naver Cloud. The artificial voice asked how she felt and, upon realizing that the elderly woman was too weak to talk, automatically triggered an alert to a social worker. Hours later, Chung was in emergency surgery for an acute hernia. “AI saved me,” Chung said later.
The accelerated aging of the South Korean population is putting enormous pressure on health and social services. In just 15 years, the percentage of people over 65 has doubled and now represents more than a fifth of the population. The country faces a lack of doctors, caregivers and sufficient family support to meet the needs of the elderly.
The innovative Talking Buddy already makes calls to tens of thousands of elderly people who live alone, many of them in situations of poverty or isolation. Conversations typically last between two and five minutes; are personalized and designed to reduce loneliness, stimulate memory and identify risk situations. Some elderly people vent about emotional problems, others play the piano during calls or invite the chatbot to… lunch.
In addition to combating loneliness, artificial intelligence is also being used in the fight against insanity. In Seongnam, near Seoul, a 72-year-old woman diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment participates in a program called “SuperBrain”developed with government support.
SuperBrain also allows doctors to monitor patients remotely. The system automatically records exercise frequency and performance, adjusting the degree of difficulty and providing more reliable data to healthcare professionals.
Since 2021, the program has recorded around 1.5 million training sessions carried out by more than 10,000 patients across the country.
Experts warn of a future “dementia tsunami” in the country. It is estimated that the number of cases in the country could double by 2044exceeding two million people.
