Hold Fast: AI, Humanity and the Future of Aged Care with Donald Macaskill

About this episode

The episode features a conversation with Donald Macaskill about the ethical implications of AI in aged care and the importance of maintaining human relationships in healthcare.

Welcome to Pulse: Amplify, where we sit down with the leaders and changemakers shaping the future of health. At the recent ITAC Conference in Brisbane, one keynote stopped the room. While most AI presentations focus on efficiency, automation and productivity, Scottish Care CEO Dr Donald Macaskill delivered something very different: a deeply human conversation about dignity, autonomy, storytelling, privacy and what healthcare risks losing in the race toward artificial intelligence. In this episode of Pulse, Louise and George sit down with Donald to unpack Scotland’s ethical and human rights-based approach to AI in aged care — and why he believes AI is not inevitable, but a choice. The conversation explores: the shift from person-centred to person-led care, why current AI systems often fail to reflect the lived experience of ageing, the risks of surveillance and opaque decision-making in care environments, how Scotland is using co-design and human rights frameworks to shape AI adoption, and why technology should enhance — never replace — human presence and relationships. Donald also shares practical lessons from Scottish initiatives including the Oxford Institute for Ethics in AI…

People in this episode

Hosts: Louise, George

Guest: Donald Macaskill

Topics covered

• AI in aged care
• human rights
• dignity and autonomy
• ethical AI
• person-led care
• technology and relationships

Keywords

• AI
• aged care
• human rights
• dignity
• autonomy
• Scotland
• healthcare
• technology
• surveillance

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Scottish Care, Oxford Institute for Ethics in AI, Coorie Well project

Places: Scotland, Brisbane

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