"Observation on Life of Silver Aging in the AI Era" released to explore the picture of aging in the AI era

China News Service, Beijing, October 18 (Wang Yan) On the eve of the Double Ninth Festival in 2026, Shell Charity and People magazine held the "New World, Old Friends - Silver Age Life Theme Salon" in Beijing on the 17th, and released a separate volume of the same name "New World, Old Friends - Observation of Silver Age Life in the AI ​​Era".

"New World, Old Friends - Silver Age Life Theme Salon" event scene. (Photo courtesy of the organizer)

This salon focuses on the observation and thinking of the elderly life in the technological era. It brings together many guests from different industries and generations such as literature and art, academia, etc. to present diverse thoughts through speeches, conversations, debates and other forms.

"Time can take away speed, but it can't take away our expectations for life." Singer and host Dai Jun shared with the title "Playing with Old Friends in the New World". He believes that being loved by young people again depends not on skills, but on maintaining the authenticity and "feeling of life" that is scarce in the technological age.

First-class actor Cao Cuifen had a live conversation with host Zhang Yue. 82-year-old Cao Cuifen shared her experience of learning mobile online shopping after moving into a nursing home, saying that she had to "live and learn". Talking about elderly care technology, she said that if she has difficulty moving in the future, she would be willing to use privacy-focused robots to take care of care work. The most important thing in elderly care is to maintain human dignity. Zhang Yue called for the accelerated implementation and development of AI technology in the elderly care field to cope with the pressure of future aging social care.

The separate volume "New World, Old Friends - Observation on Life of the Elderly in the AI ​​Era", launched simultaneously, relies on a large number of user collections and in-depth interviews to record the real experience of the elderly embracing new technologies: while technology brings convenience, it also faces practical dilemmas such as the difficulty of distinguishing between true and false numbers and the digital divide. A repair shop owner who helps the elderly repair mobile phones all year round said in a separate book: "Both children can buy the latest smartphones. It's not a matter of money, but a matter of patience and companionship."

Hu Yong, a professor at the School of Journalism and Communication at Peking University, suggested that what really determines the quality of care is the time and relationships between people that are difficult to replicate, and technology should be positioned as a supporting tool for the care system. Tang Yong, a professor at the Department of Sociology at the School of Government at Shenzhen University who studies social welfare and mental health for the elderly, reminded that the vast majority of the elderly do not want to just be the ones being served, but also desire to serve others and be recognized.

On the Double Ninth Festival, Shell Charity simultaneously launched the "Friendly Neighbors" initiative for broker partners and community neighbors across the country, calling on everyone to do their best to "help" those around them, so that human support and technological protection can go hand in hand.

According to reports, since it started with the public welfare project "I will teach you how to use a mobile phone" in 2018, Shell Charity has expanded into a number of elderly assistance services such as fall prevention science popularization and aging-friendly handrail modification. Shell Charity stated that the "elderly dilemma" is the dilemma of a group and the sum of the specific problems of different individuals. It is hoped that through this event, the real situation of the silver-haired group will be brought into public view, and more social forces will be attracted to participate in solving the problems of aging society. (over)