[INTERVIEW] Korea can lead in AI for older people, UN expert says

Zvezdan Pirtosek, the U.N. Independent Expert on the Enjoyment of All Human Rights by Older Persons, said Korea can lead global efforts to build more inclusive AI for older people. He said the country’s rapid tech development and fast-aging population create a chance to pioneer age-inclusive models and policies. He urged Korea to follow a rights before scale approach, keep human review in essential services, and involve older persons from the start.

Korea became a super-aged society in late 2024, when people aged 65 and older accounted for more than 20 percent of the population.

The country’s total fertility rate remains around 0.8, the world’s lowest.

The discussion took place at the 6th ASEM Forum on Human Rights of Older Persons, which brought together experts from Asia and Europe.

Published Sep 5, 2026 7:00 am KST

Rapid aging, advanced tech give Seoul both opportunity, responsibility to set global standard

Zvezdan Pirtosek, the U.N. Independent Expert on the Enjoyment of All Human Rights by Older Persons, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at Hotel President in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of ASEM Global Ageing Center

Korea is uniquely positioned to lead global efforts to design and test more inclusive artificial intelligence (AI) systems for older people, combining its advanced technological capabilities with the world’s fastest-aging population, according to a U.N. expert.

The country’s rapid technological development and equally fast demographic transition give it an unusual opportunity — and responsibility — to develop an age-inclusive model that can be adopted by other countries, said Zvezdan Pirtosek, the U.N. Independent Expert on the Enjoyment of All Human Rights by Older Persons.

Korea became a super-aged society in late 2024, as people aged 65 and older accounted for more than 20 percent of the population. The share is expected to continue to rise as its total fertility rate remains the world’s lowest, at around 0.8.

“I think Korea can lead discussions about these very, very important and timely issues,” he said in an interview with The Korea Times on Wednesday, adding that Korea can pioneer the development and testing of its own comprehensive AI models and policies, and that other nations “can learn a lot” from the results.

AI is entering everyday life with unprecedented speed and intensity, while aging is reshaping societies worldwide, he said. Korea faces the two trends at the same time more acutely than most countries. He called on Korea to apply a “rights before scale” principle as it expands AI-powered health care, welfare and other public services.

“I would encourage Korea to involve older persons much earlier. Too often, participation occurs when a product has already been designed and the only remaining question is whether users like it. Older persons should help define the problem, acceptable uses of data, conditions for consent and the outcomes by which success will be judged,” Pirtosek said. “It is much easier to correct a problem during design or a limited pilot than after an AI system has become the main gateway to a national service.”

He singled out health care, long-term care, social protection and other essential services as areas where safeguards are especially urgent. In the absence of protection, AI designed to improve people’s lives could instead deepen digital exclusion, enable intrusive surveillance or reproduce age-based biases in decisions affecting older people, he said.

That concern reflects a broader debate surrounding the use of AI in aging societies. AI tools can help older people live independently, while AI-powered systems and robots can remind users to take medication, detect falls and alert family members or caregivers.

Pirtosek said the danger is that automated systems can embed assumptions or biases that are difficult for people to identify. Once an AI system becomes the routine gateway to health care, welfare or care services, such errors can be reproduced at scale and become politically difficult to reverse.

“There must be timely human review before the consequences become irreversible,” said Pirtosek.

He added that Korea needs to develop legal protections, independent oversight and public understanding alongside the technology. The government should also retain human-led or hybrid alternatives for people who cannot or choose not to use AI-based services.

Throughout the process, Korea can make a particularly valuable international contribution by sharing not only effective uses of AI, but also lessons from unsuccessful programs and unintended consequences, he said.

The discussion took place at the 6th ASEM Forum on Human Rights of Older Persons, which brought together experts from Asia and Europe to discuss age-inclusive AI.

Pirtosek said the two regions can learn from each other. European countries can learn from Korea’s ability to test ideas, build digital infrastructure and turn technological research into practical services. Korea, meanwhile, can draw on their experience in translating human-rights principles into enforceable legal duties and institutional safeguards.

“The most promising collaboration would combine Korea’s capacity for implementation with European experience in turning principles into enforceable duties,” Pirtosek said. “I am equally convinced that older persons from both regions should be part of that collaboration from the beginning. Otherwise, even a sophisticated international dialogue will remain a conversation about older persons rather than one conducted with them.

联合国老年人享有所有人权问题独立专家兹韦兹丹·皮尔托塞克表示，韩国可以引领全球努力，为老年人构建更具包容性的人工智能。他指出，韩国快速的科技发展和迅速老龄化的人口结构为其开创包容老年人的模式和政策提供了契机。他敦促韩国遵循“权利优先于规模”的原则，在基本服务中保留人为因素的审查，并从一开始就让老年人参与其中。

韩国在 2024 年底成为超老龄化社会，届时 65 岁及以上人口占总人口的 20% 以上。

该国的总和生育率仍然维持在0.8左右，是世界上最低的。

此次讨论是在第六届亚欧老年人人权论坛上进行的，该论坛汇聚了来自亚洲和欧洲的专家。

发布于2026年9月5日 上午7:00（韩国标准时间）

快速的老龄化和先进的技术赋予首尔机遇和责任，使其成为全球标准的制定者。

联合国老年人享有所有人权问题独立专家兹韦兹丹·皮尔托塞克（Zvezdan Pirtosek）周三在首尔总统酒店接受《韩国时报》采访。图片由亚欧会议全球老龄化中心提供。

联合国专家表示，韩国拥有独特的优势，可以引领全球努力，为老年人设计和测试更具包容性的人工智能 (AI) 系统，因为它将先进的技术能力与世界上老龄化速度最快的人口相结合。

联合国老年人享有所有人权问题独立专家兹韦兹丹·皮尔托塞克表示，该国快速的技术发展和同样快速的人口转型，使其拥有一个独特的机会——以及责任——来发展一种包容年龄的模式，供其他国家采用。

韩国在2024年底正式步入超老龄化社会，65岁及以上人口占比超过20%。由于其总和生育率仍维持在世界最低水平（约0.8），预计这一比例还将继续上升。

“我认为韩国可以就这些非常非常重要且及时的问题展开讨论，”他在周三接受《韩国时报》采访时表示，并补充说，韩国可以率先开发和测试自己的综合人工智能模型和政策，其他国家可以从结果中“学到很多东西”。

他表示，人工智能正以前所未有的速度和强度融入日常生活，而人口老龄化正在重塑全球社会。韩国同时面临的这两大趋势比大多数国家更为严峻。他呼吁韩国在推广人工智能驱动的医疗保健、福利和其他公共服务时，应遵循“优先考虑权利，而非规模”的原则。

“我鼓励韩国更早地让老年人参与进来。很多时候，老年人的参与是在产品设计完成后才进行的，而此时唯一需要考虑的问题是用户是否喜欢它。老年人应该帮助明确问题所在、数据的合理用途、同意的条件以及衡量成功的标准，”皮尔托塞克说。“在设计阶段或小范围试点阶段纠正问题，远比在人工智能系统成为国家服务的主要入口之后再去纠正要容易得多。”

他特别指出，医疗保健、长期护理、社会保障和其他基本服务领域尤其亟需加强​​保障。他表示，如果缺乏保护，旨在改善人们生活的AI反而可能加剧数字鸿沟，导致侵入式监控，或在影响老年人的决策中重现基于年龄的偏见。

这种担忧反映了围绕人工智能在老龄化社会中的应用而展开的更广泛的辩论。人工智能工具可以帮助老年人独立生活，而人工智能系统和机器人可以提醒用户服药、检测跌倒并通知家人或护理人员。

皮尔托塞克表示，危险在于自动化系统可能会嵌入一些人们难以识别的假设或偏见。一旦人工智能系统成为医疗保健、福利或护理服务的常规入口，此类错误就可能大规模复制，并且在政治上难以纠正。

“必须及时进行人工审查，以免后果变得不可逆转，”皮尔托塞克说。

他还补充说，韩国需要在发展人工智能技术的同时，建立相应的法律保护、独立监管机制和公众认知体系。政府也应该保留人工服务或混合服务模式，以满足那些无法或选择不使用人工智能服务的人群的需求。

他表示，在此过程中，韩国不仅可以分享人工智能的有效应用，还可以分享不成功的项目和意外后果的教训，从而为国际做出特别有价值的贡献。

此次讨论是在第六届亚欧会议老年人人权论坛上进行的，该论坛汇聚了来自亚洲和欧洲的专家，共同探讨包容老年人的人工智能。

皮尔托塞克表示，这两个地区可以互相学习。欧洲国家可以学习韩国在验证理念、建设数字基础设施以及将技术研究转化为实际服务方面的能力。与此同时，韩国可以借鉴其在将人权原则转化为可执行的法律义务和制度保障方面的经验。

“最有希望的合作是将韩国的执行能力与欧洲将原则转化为可执行义务的经验相结合，”皮尔托塞克说。“我同样坚信，来自这两个地区的老年人应该从一开始就参与到合作中来。否则，即使是高水平的国际对话也只会是关于老年人的讨论，而不是与老年人共同进行的对话。”