Steven Blum monitors his 86-year-old father from 5,000 miles away using Sensi, an AI device that tracks and listens to everything inside his father’s home. “His coughs, toilet flushes, and even snippets of private conversations—Sensi records it all,” Blum writes. While he seeks his father’s consent for this level of surveillance, the piece asks overall whether an 86-year-old can truly grasp what they’re agreeing to. As families increasingly turn to AI to help aging parents stay in their homes, not everyone will surrender their privacy for safety. Blum’s story is part of Architectural Digest’s “Future of Home” series, in partnership with Wired.
When my family first began fretting that he’d fall in 2024, I defended his choice to stay at home, which doubles as a well-kept shrine to my late mom, who died in 2019. “He should live however he wants,” I told a friend. “When I’m old, I’d like the right to fall down,” she replied. To reaffirm my stance, I also found studies confirming that older adults who move into nursing homes experience steeper cognitive decline; plus, I was still haunted by the flickering, fluorescent institution that once housed my mom for a month.
More stories on aging
How Three Chess Friends Battled Demons and Saved Two Lives
“A homeless chess hustler, a scholar and an aging recluse found hope in a trashed apartment by Central Park.”
Madness on a Mountain: For 15 Years, My Mom was Trapped in a Mutual Psychosis
“She fell mysteriously ill while living in a remote cabin with my stepdad, and I suspected it was a cry for help. Then came the unexpected diagnosis: folie à deux.”
‘Do You Have a Family?’: Midlife With No Kids, Ageing Parents–and No Crisis
“Three generations: dead, old, and middle-aged.”
Losing My Dad in Installments
“Back then, it felt easier to say goodbye to each part of him as they left.”
Losers Keepers
“Better to imagine some subterranean Gollum crooning over my memories than to accept them being lost completely.”
When I’m 125?
“What it means to live an optimized life and why Bryan Johnson’s Blueprint just doesn’t get it.”
