Dr. Aileen O'Reilly:

Mr. Moynihan mentioned some of the services we provide. Like other organisations, we offer digital literacy skills training. That is provided in a variety of ways including in physical locations. There is an intergenerational element to it. There are ways to embed that AI training within those components. I was also struck when I started to do a bit of reading around AI by how much information there is around risk and how much needs to be managed. However, it is important to remind ourselves of the enormous potential. As well as providing the digital literacy skills training, ALONE provides assistive technology. Mr. Moynihan mentioned that. Such items as PanPan watches and Pebbell alarms are critical pieces of technology that support people to age well at home. We also have a visitation support and befriending service where we match older people with volunteers who visit them once a week and provide companionship and support.

There is a practical element to that. We introduced an AI matching tool to match up our volunteers and older people, reducing the administrative time for our staff and enabling them to work with more older people and reach more volunteers. We anticipate it could actually double the number of assessments and matches we are able to make. There are definitely ways in which this can really facilitate older people.