Humans all over the world are facing demographic changes that our species has never seen before. The typical pyramid-shaped model where the majority of people are working age and can support the young and the elderly is turning upside down as people live longer and birth rates slow. Where seniors were only 8% of the population in 1950, the number will be over 20% in 2050 and our existing models of caring for seniors will not be sustainable much longer.
Instead of fearing the inevitable, it is time to get to work. Throughout history, these moments have proven to be opportunities for technology and human ingenuity to re-structure what is normal and start designing the future.
If you are 100 today, you have seen advancements that have changed society completely. From medicins like aspirin, insulin, and antibiotics to technology like the television, smartphone, and carbon dating – a lot of the way we live today would be totally unrecognizable just a few decades ago. We’ve gone to the moon, grown a human ear on a mouse, and replace whole human hearts as a matter of routine in hospitals all over the world.
For many of the things listed, you don’t even need to go back that far. Check out the Global Change Calculator to see just how much the world has changed in your lifetime or that of your loved ones.
“In the 1890s, the Industrial Revolution had people flocking to the city, and more people equals more horses, and more horses equals more manure. And it was predicted that by the middle of the next century, there would be nine feet of manure covering the streets. But what no one saw coming, was a new technology that would completely obliterate those concerns. The car. Over night, the manure problem vanished.” – Jared, Silicon Valley
So, we know we have a problem. We know the old models won’t work anymore. But now is the time to think about how living and communities can change and how technology can help prevent problems and allow us to provide better support to more people than ever before.
“Everybody likes to frame this as the silver tsunami that’s going to bankrupt the nation. And it is a pressing situation. But that’s because what we’ve been doing is segregating people and concentrating them in one place” – Kavan Peterson
CarePredict is doing our part to prepare for the future by using AI and Machine Learning to see issues long before they require serious medical attention so people can live longer with greater independence. It’s time to join the solution and look at innovative ways to live better.
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