Disassembling Vulnerabilities: Digital Technologies and AI in Dementia Care
Disassembling Vulnerabilities: Digital Technologies and AI in Dementia Care
Wednesday, 9 July 2025: 09:00
Location: FSE037 (Faculty of Education Sciences (FSE))
Oral Presentation
The integration of digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming dementia care, particularly in both residential and home-based settings. While these technologies offer potential improvements in care delivery, they also raise important challenges, such as discrepancies between intended and actual uses, ethical concerns, and the reconfiguration of caregiver-patient relationships.
Our study ANTICIPATE, grounded in a multidisciplinary framework that draws from Science & Technology Studies, organisational studies, and medical sociology, investigates the role of AI in dementia care by focusing on the interactions between human and non-human actors and how these dynamics influence care practices.
The research adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining several methodologies. The study maps the use of AI in dementia care, conducts surveys of caregivers, and includes ethnographic research in residential settings. Semi-structured interviews with stakeholders and participatory co-design workshops further engage participants, ensuring that their perspectives shape the analysis of AI implementation in dementia care.
Preliminary findings suggest that AI technologies, such as robotic systems and telemonitoring tools, are reshaping care practices in Italy. However, there are notable gaps between the intended design of these technologies and their practical applications. The emerging dynamics of integration and conflict between human and ‘artificial’ actors often lead to the transformation of professional roles within dementia care. These shifts highlight the importance of understanding the broader socio-technical ecosystem in which AI technologies operate.
This study challenges the notion that vulnerability is solely human, adopting instead the concept of “assemblages of vulnerability” in which both human and non-human actors contribute to emerging risks and uncertainties. The integration of AI into dementia care raises new ethical and practical concerns, including technical malfunctions, depersonalisation, and privacy issues. These risks are not inherent to the technologies but are shaped by the environments in which they are deployed.
Our study ANTICIPATE, grounded in a multidisciplinary framework that draws from Science & Technology Studies, organisational studies, and medical sociology, investigates the role of AI in dementia care by focusing on the interactions between human and non-human actors and how these dynamics influence care practices.
The research adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining several methodologies. The study maps the use of AI in dementia care, conducts surveys of caregivers, and includes ethnographic research in residential settings. Semi-structured interviews with stakeholders and participatory co-design workshops further engage participants, ensuring that their perspectives shape the analysis of AI implementation in dementia care.
Preliminary findings suggest that AI technologies, such as robotic systems and telemonitoring tools, are reshaping care practices in Italy. However, there are notable gaps between the intended design of these technologies and their practical applications. The emerging dynamics of integration and conflict between human and ‘artificial’ actors often lead to the transformation of professional roles within dementia care. These shifts highlight the importance of understanding the broader socio-technical ecosystem in which AI technologies operate.
This study challenges the notion that vulnerability is solely human, adopting instead the concept of “assemblages of vulnerability” in which both human and non-human actors contribute to emerging risks and uncertainties. The integration of AI into dementia care raises new ethical and practical concerns, including technical malfunctions, depersonalisation, and privacy issues. These risks are not inherent to the technologies but are shaped by the environments in which they are deployed.