Artificial Intelligence and Technology in Dementia Care: Promise, Practice and Ethical Tensions
Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly shaping dementia care across diagnostics, monitoring and everyday support. For clinicians and nurses, its value lies in enabling earlier detection, more personalised interventions, and prolonged independence for people living with dementia. The challenge is no longer whether AI should be used, but how it can be meaningfully integrated within relationship-centred care.
Current applications of AI in dementia care span monitoring systems, social robotics and technologies supporting activities of daily living (Steijger et al., 2025). Monitoring technologies are the most established. Wearables, environmental sensors and camera-based systems can detect subtle changes in movement, sleep and behaviour, supporting early identification of risks such as falls or infections. These tools enhance continuous assessment and facilitate more proactive, responsive care, aligning closely with core healthcare priorities.
Advances are also evident in diagnostics. AI-supported cognitive assessments and speech-based models demonstrate potential for earlier and more sensitive detection of cognitive decline. In parallel, machine learning approaches to neuroimaging can improve interpretation of complex datasets and reduce variability associated with human judgement (Aljuhani et al., 2024). This is particularly relevant for rarer dementias, including Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), the focus of my PhD, where diagnostic delay remains a persistent challenge. AI-enhanced imaging may therefore support greater diagnostic precision across heterogeneous dementia presentations.
AI is also reshaping care delivery. Technology-enabled home care systems integrating sensors, conversational agents, and predictive analytics can support people living with dementia remain at home longer. Evidence suggests improvements in sleep, activity and mood, reflecting gains across multiple domains of quality of life (Steijger et al., 2025). Emerging innovations further extend this potential.We see this in developing projects in Dubai, such as ‘synthetic memories’ that are exploring the use of generative AI to reconstruct personalised visual memories, supporting recall, identity, and emotional well-being. Such approaches signal a shift towards more person-centred and psychologically informed applications of AI.
The evidence base continues to develop, with early findings indicating considerable promise. Ensuring that technologies are designed with, and for, people living with dementia remains essential to supporting autonomy, dignity and meaningful engagement. Ethical considerations, particularly around consent, privacy, and data governance, are increasingly addressed through adaptive and supported decision-making approaches.
Workforce readiness is central to successful implementation. A cross-sectional study (manuscript under review) exploring AI readiness among RCSI students in Dublin and Bahrain, led by Dr Dara Cassidy, Head of Digital Education (Dublin) and I (at RCSI Bahrain), found that students are actively engaging with AI and hold positive views regarding its role in healthcare as long as humans remain in charge of decision-making.
This is further supported by the successful introduction of an intra-curricular AI in healthcare workshop for nursing students, reflecting the growing integration of AI into nursing education. Dementia care remains inherently relational, grounded in communication, presence and understanding the person beyond their symptoms. Within this context, AI should be positioned as an adjunct to dementia care. When integrated thoughtfully, it can enhance clinical judgement, support tailored interventions and create space for more meaningful human interaction.
In conclusion, AI offers significant opportunities across the dementia care trajectory, from improving diagnostic accuracy to supporting independence and quality of life. Its application in imaging may be particularly valuable in addressing diagnostic complexity, including in rarer dementias such as FTD, while emerging innovations suggest new avenues for psychosocial support. The future of AI in dementia care lies in its ability to augment relationship-centred practice. Further evaluation of emerging interventions, such as recent developments in Dubai, and exploration of their transferability to contexts such as the Kingdom of Bahrain, represent important next steps.
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