AI for health can’t leave older people behind, says WHO

A policy brief from the World Health Organization offers strategies for combating ageism and bias in machine learning technologies.

The World Health Organization released a policy brief this past week aimed at combating age-related bias in health-related artificial intelligence tools.  

The brief, “Ageism in artificial intelligence for health,” proposes a wide range of measures to ensure older people are effectively engaged in the processes, technologies and services affecting them.  

“The implicit and explicit biases of society, including around age, are often replicated in AI technologies,” said Alana Officer, unit head of demographic change and healthy aging at the WHO.   

“To ensure that AI technologies play a beneficial role, ageism must be identified and eliminated from their design, development, use and evaluation,” Officer continued.