Technologies

AI-Powered Smart Devices Help Older Adults Age at Home, Survey Finds

Despite trust in smart home tools and cameras, though, older people are generally skeptical of AI-generated material.

Older adults often find artificial intelligence smart home devices and voice assistants useful in helping them age in place, according to a new survey by the University of Michigan.

More than half of people surveyed aged 50 and older have used generative AI tools they spoke or typed messages to, according to the National Poll on Healthy Aging, released by the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation.

By comparison, a June Pew Research Center poll found that 25% of US adults 50 to 64 and 10% of those 65 and older had used ChatGPT, OpenAI’s flagship AI tool and the most popular chatbot. (Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

The Michigan survey, a telephone poll of 2,883 adults ages 50 to 97 across the US, looked not only at text-based chatbots like ChatGPT but also voice assistants like Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri. Most significantly, the survey found nearly all older adults want to be sure when they’re receiving information generated by AI.

«AI is here to stay. Many older adults seem to know about its benefits, yet most want more information about potential risks when using AI technologies,» Robin Brewer, an assistant professor in the U-M School of Information, said in a statement. «The near-universal interest in clear labeling of AI-generated information should also be heeded by policymakers and the AI industry.»

Smart home devices help older adults maintain independence

The Michigan researchers found 51% of Americans aged 50 or older had used voice assistants in the past year, with 80% of those saying the devices helped them live independently and safely at home. AI-powered home security devices, like smart locks, cameras and alarm systems, were used by 35% of the adults, with 96% saying they helped them live independently.

«Smart home devices frequently suggest using their latest features to watch over older relatives or help them live better lives,» CNET smart home expert Tyler Lacoma said. «AI face recognition, for example, can send alerts to a family member if it spots someone leaving their home or granny pod to go shopping. Smart locks, meanwhile, make sure that older users never forget to lock the doors when they leave. I’m curious to see what the newest AI voice assistants like Gemini and Alexa Plus will bring to the table for older adults, perhaps by making more complex home technology easier to use with simple conversation.»

Another 14% of adults reported using AI to receive health-related information, although 47% of them said they’d rather interact with a person or by phone for that kind of information.

Older adults are generally skeptical of AI

Just 35% of the older adults surveyed said they’d be interested in using AI in their day-to-day lives, and while 58% expressed interest in knowing more about the benefits of AI, even more, at 81%, said they wanted to know more about the risks. Just over half of them said they thought AI would do more harm than good. That split generally aligns with the results of a broader Pew survey from earlier this year, which found 51% of Americans were more concerned than excited about AI.

Read more: AI Essentials: 29 Ways You Can Make Gen AI Work for You, According to Our Experts

The older adults in the Michigan survey also expressed understandable skepticism about the information generated by AI models, with 47% saying they had little or no trust in it. A similar portion said they weren’t confident they could detect when it’s incorrect. That problem is significant, especially as more information-gathering tools like search engines are built primarily on AI. Experts advise that you should always double-check information before making an important decision.

«This inability to tell verified information from false information, whether in the form of text, image, video or audio, is especially important when it comes to health information,» poll director Dr. Jeffrey Kullgren said in a statement.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Oct. 23 #599

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 599.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle might be Halloween-themed, as the answers are all rather dangerous. Some of them are a bit tough to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Please don’t eat me!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Remember Mr. Yuk?

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

POND, NOON, NODE, BALE, SOCK, LOVE, LOCK, MOCK, LEER, REEL, GLOVE, DAIS, LEAN, LEAD, REEL

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

AZALEA, HEMLOCK, FOXGLOVE, OLEANDER, BELLADONNA

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is POISONOUS. To find it, look for the P that is the first letter on the far left of the top row, and wind down and across.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Oct. 23, #395

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Oct. 23, No. 395.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition has one of those crazy purple categories, where you wonder if anyone saw the connection, or if people just put that grouping together because only those four words were left. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Fan noise.

Green group hint: Strategies for hoops.

Blue group hint: Minor league.

Purple group hint: Look for a connection to hoops.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Sounds from the crowd.

Green group: Basketball offenses.

Blue group: Triple-A baseball teams.

Purple group: Ends with a basketball stat.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is sounds from the crowd. The four answers are boo, cheer, clap and whistle.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is basketball offenses. The four answers are motion, pick and roll, Princeton and triangle.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is triple-A baseball teams. The four answers are Aces, Jumbo Shrimp, Sounds and Storm Chasers.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ends with a basketball stat. The four answers are afoul, bassist, counterpoint and sunblock.

Technologies

Amazon’s Delivery Drivers Will Soon Wear AI Smart Glasses to Work

The goal is to streamline the delivery process while keeping drivers safe.

Amazon announced on Wednesday that it is developing new AI-powered smart glasses to simplify the delivery experience for its drivers. CNET smart glasses expert Scott Stein mentioned this wearable rollout last month, and now the plan is in its final testing stages.

The goal is to simplify package delivery by reducing the need for drivers to look at their phones, the label on the package they’re delivering and their surroundings to find the correct address.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

A heads-up display will activate as soon as the driver parks, pointing out potential hazards and tasks that must be completed. From there, drivers can locate and scan packages, follow turn-by-turn directions and snap a photograph to prove delivery completion without needing to take out their phone.

The company is testing the glasses in select North American markets.

Watch: See our Instagram post with a video showing the glasses

A representative for Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

To fight battery drain, the glasses pair with a controller attached to the employee’s delivery vest, allowing them to replace depleted batteries and access operational controls. The glasses will support an employee’s eyeglass prescription. An emergency button will be within reach to ensure the driver’s safety.

Amazon is already planning future versions of the glasses, which will feature «real-time defect detection,» notifying the driver if a package was delivered to the incorrect address. They plan to add features to the glasses to detect if pets are in the yard and adjust to low light.