Why AI governance should be a focal issue for gerontology

Today, technologies described as artificial intelligence (AI) impact older adults in numerous and diverse ways, yet the field of gerontology has not seriously engaged AI governance. From algorithmic decision making used in health insurance, employment, housing, and public benefits, to the information ecosystem, to AI companions, AI applications implicate important issues of ethics, service access, and ageism. Policy levers could help address these issues and mitigate harm, but there is currently a paucity of federal AI regulations. As AI and algorithmic harms are better understood, the call from public interest groups and researchers in various fields has gotten louder for comprehensive AI and data privacy policy in the United States. Yet there has been little attention on how rapid development and deployment of AI may affect older adults, and their diverse interests are not well represented in discourses about AI policy making or governance. Drawing on a narrative synthesis of academic and policy literature and attending to the principles in the Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights, we explain how these principles can guide the development of ethical governance of AI to ensure accountable development and implementation to promote the interests of older adults.