AI‑Facilitated Cognitive Engagement for Healthy Ageing

About the Project

As populations age, maintaining cognitive health and quality of life has become a major public health priority (WHO, 2025). Evidence from digital ageing research shows that older adults are willing to engage with new technologies when they are meaningful, well‑supported, and accessible (Vaportzis, Giatsi Clausen, et al., 2017). Experimental work also demonstrates that engaging in new, mentally challenging digital activities (such as learning to use a tablet) can lead to measurable cognitive benefits, including improvements in processing speed (Vaportzis, Martin, et al., 2017). Yet we know surprisingly little about how older adults experience such engagement, what makes it motivating or burdensome, and how low‑cost digital tools might support it (Li et al., 2024).

This PhD project will investigate whether AI‑designed cognitive engagement prompts can enhance perceived cognitive health, wellbeing, and everyday functioning in adults aged 65+. Unlike traditional brain training, this intervention focuses on real‑world cognitive activation rather than repetitive tasks, and is designed to be accessible, low‑cost, and scalable.

The project will also explore how older adults perceive AI‑generated content, what makes prompts feel meaningful or patronising, and how digital confidence, cultural background, and device access shape engagement.

Specific Objectives

• Explore older adults’ attitudes toward AI‑generated cognitive prompts and identify features that support or hinder engagement;
• Develop and refine a bank of AI‑generated cognitive engagement prompts, co‑designed with older adults;
• Conduct an intervention study comparing AI‑facilitated cognitive engagement with an active control condition;
• Examine changes in perceived cognitive health and wellbeing;
• Analyse how digital literacy, cultural background, and device access influence engagement and outcomes;
• Conduct post‑intervention focus groups to understand acceptability, perceived benefits, and barriers to scale‑up.

Research Design & Methodology

This is a mixed‑methods exploratory project comprising three phases:

Pre‑intervention focus groups

• Explore perceptions of cognitive ageing, digital confidence, and attitudes toward AI‑generated cognitive challenges.
• Co‑design acceptable, non‑patronising prompt styles.

Intervention

• Participants receive brief cognitive engagement AI‑generated prompts that they need to respond to.
• Potential outcomes include perceived cognitive health, anxiety, wellbeing, and everyday cognitive failures.

Post‑intervention focus groups

• Explore experiences of the intervention, perceived cognitive changes, and recommendations for future digital ageing tools.