A world-first Monash University study has found using artificial intelligence into aged care homes can exacerbate ageism and social inequality. The paper, published in the Journal of Applied Gerontology, reveals the unmet value of artificial intelligence (AI) to help solve aged care issues including loneliness of residents through chat, video and image sharing, through to medical diagnosis and assessments tools. The study found pushing AI technology - from robots to voice assistants - into aged care can exacerbate ageist views due to the choices of carers on how best to use technology for older people in these settings. "AI can perpetuate ageism and exacerbate existing social inequalities," lead author Dr Barbara Barbosa Neves said. "When implementing AI technologies in aged care, we must consider them as part of a suite of care services and not as isolated solutions."