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We\u2019re back! After a bit of a break, your regularly scheduled Flash Forward episodes will resume starting today. Every other Tuesday you\u2019ll get a future delivered straight to your listening device. I hope you enjoy!\nOn this episode, we\u2019re talking about the future of senior care. Namely: what happens when we outsource care for our aging loved ones to robots, apps and devices?\nLet\u2019s start by defining the challenge that the technology in today\u2019s episode is trying to solve: in the United States, there are six million people over the age of 85. Experts estimate that, by 2050, that number will jump to 19 million. And a question looms over those numbers, right? Who\u2019s going to take care of us? And who is going to pay for our care? The average cost of a year in a nursing home in the United States is over $80,000. In home services provided by humans are $48,000. At the same time, care facilities are already reporting a shortage of qualified nurses.\nSo of course one of the classes of solutions proposed to this looming problem is technology. There are already apps to monitor and assist seniors, robots to remind them to take their meds,\xa0and sensors to predict when they might fall. There are even little robot animals that can provide them with affection and comfort. But what do we give up when we hand our parents over to robots? What do they want? And are the products that tech people are coming up with actually solving the problem at all? Those are the questions of today\u2019s episode.\nFor a full transcript of this episode, and for further reading visit flashforwardpod.com. \nFlash Forward is produced by me, Rose Eveleth. The intro music is by Asura and the outtro music is by Hussalonia. The voice of the annoyed father in the intro was played by Brent Rose. The episode art is by Matt Lubchansky.\nIf you want to suggest a future we should take on, send us a note on Twitter, Facebook or by email at info@flashforwardpod.com. We love hearing your ideas! And if you think you\u2019ve spotted one of the little references I\u2019ve hidden in the episode, email us there too. If you\u2019re right, I\u2019ll send you something cool.\nAnd if you want to support the show, there are a few ways you can do that too! Head to www.flashforwardpod.com/support for more about how to give. But if that\u2019s not in the cards for you, you can head to Apple Podcasts and leave us a nice review or just tell your friends about us. Those things really do help.\xa0\nThat\u2019s all for this future, come back next time and we\u2019ll travel to a new one.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices