Human-Centered Design of AI in Healthcare and the Role of Older Patients

While artificial intelligence (AI) holds immense potential across various applications in healthcare; to a great extent, its success depends on usability and user experience, including emotions, trust, and ethical considerations. To address users’ needs, AI driven applications need to be developed in accordance to the guidelines of ISO 9241-210, “Human-Centred Design for Interactive Systems.” While most users of AI healthcare applications are medical professionals, it is important to also include patients as stakeholders in the developmental process. Moreover, patients as a user group may also play an important role in the context of AI applications for prevention and management of chronic conditions. An important sub-group in this context is older persons as this population grows more rapidly than others. Older patients have specific as well as a wide range of needs and limitations that need to be addressed in the human-centered design (HCD) process. This chapter provides an overview of the HCD process in healthcare, specific challenges related to the implementation of automation and AI, and finishes with suggestions regarding the involvement of older participants in the HCD process of AI in the healthcare context.