How Deepseek’s Recent Rise Underscores Pitfalls, Potential Of Using Ai In Senior Living

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Earlier this week, the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepSeek stunned the U.S. tech market by demonstrating it could create a generative AI model akin to OpenAI’s ChatGPT on a relatively small budget.

The news effectively erased $589 billion from graphics chipmaker and AI proponent Nvidia’s (NASDAQ: NVDA) market cap and represents the largest rout in U.S. stock market history.

This disruption underscores how quickly things can change in technology, especially in the realm of AI. Some senior living companies have in recent years invested in tech-forward processes and they are taking note of these seismic changes afoot in the broader technology ecosystem, especially as they integrate AI-supported technology to support operations by improving marketing tactics, providing more personalized resident care and enhancing safety.

“AI was evolving at a very rapid pace prior to the DeepSeek news, but this will only accelerate the pace,” Maplewood Senior Living Vice President of Enterprise Intelligence Brian Geyser told me.

The ways in which the industry engages with AI will help shape the future of senior living technology for years to come. But there are risks in that process, and operators must take an ethical and responsible approach to using AI in the name of improved operations, resident safety and resident experience.

In this week’s members-only SHN+ Update, I analyze the recent DeepSeek disruption to offer the following takeaways:

• How DeepSeek represents a “wake-up call” for companies in and out of senior living

• Ethical concerns of adopting new practices in the fast-moving AI space

• Why DeepSeek could accelerate AI adoption by making it more affordable

DeepSeek’s ‘wake-up call,’ senior living’s ‘experimental phase’

Nvidia’s 17% stock loss sent shockwaves across the rest of the market with some calling into question the assumption of Silicon Valley being the leader in the global AI race, with DeepSeek allegedly achieving a similar level of sophistication as AI models created by Apple, Meta, Microsoft and OpenAI for a fraction of the cost at just under $6 million.

An article published by Tech Radar, financial advisory firm deVere Group CEO Nigel Green called the DeepSeek news “a wake-up call for markets.”

In a LinkedIn post following the DeepSeek news, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella heralded the breakthrough even as Microsoft stock fell earlier this week.

“As AI gets more efficient and accessible, we will see its use skyrocket, turning it into a commodity we just can’t get enough of,” Nadella wrote.

I believe the news is also potentially a “wake-up call” for the senior living industry’s technology investments and efforts. While not many senior living operators currently use generative AI in their operations, many are exploring what such platforms can and can’t do as they look for ways to be more efficient and cost-effective.

Tens of millions of dollars are currently changing hands in an effort to grow AI capabilities for senior living. Just in the last week, two AI-enabled tech companies – Nobi and SafelyYou – announced new fundraising rounds to the tune of $37 million and $43 million, respectively.

To me, DeepSeek’s market disruption shows there’s a long road ahead for the development of open-source AI models, both in the wider world and in senior living. It underscores a need to stay open-minded and nimble to prepare for potential and sudden changes in the space.

Operators currently making bigger investments in AI include Maplewood Senior Living, which uses it in conjunction with machine learning in its Inspir-branded communities. The company does so in order to improve resident safety in memory care to create “bespoke lifestyle experiences” and make connections between residents with similar interests or backgrounds, Geyser told me.

Geyser added that he feels AI use in senior living is still in an “experimentation phase.”

In the coming years, Geyser told me he sees AI being integrated into “most aspects” of work in senior living and will be layered into all software systems used by operators.

“Beyond the obvious need for privacy, security and compliance, operators and providers need to focus on AI training and literacy for the workforce, AI governance and oversight, and building AI [models] that solve real-world problems and have the greatest impact,” Geyser told me.

Senior living operators also engage with AI tools for electronic health record (EHR) monitoring. Tech company August Health, which aims to improve resident care and operations, uses predictive tools combining assessments, medication management, vitals and past health incidents to identify residents who may need additional care or support.

While leaders including Geyser think DeepSeek’s quick ascension could help fuel more AI adoption, critics and competitors have raised ethical concerns over DeepSeek and its practices. For example, many have pointed out that Chinese law gives the country’s government authority over accessing the private data of companies based there.

To August Health Co-Founder Erez Cohen, DeepSeek’s rise should prompt operators and other users of AI to “challenge their vendors on the ethical concerns of [AI] models.”

Indeed, senior living operators must establish these clear objectives around AI adoption and take caution in deploying them.

“As with any technical solution, there’s a shared ethical responsibility which means that providers need to build safe solutions and operators need to deploy them safely,” Aline Chief Technology Officer Nitin Somalwar told me.

LeadingAge Center for Aging Services Technologies Vice President Scott Code told me operators should implement AI guidelines that “prioritize transparency, privacy, and the autonomy of both staff and residents.”

To me, this makes it all more important that in this crucial phase, senior living operators take time to develop formal AI strategies, protocols and ethical standards. At the heart of this issue will be older adults relying on operators to safeguard their personal health and lifestyle-related data.

According to SafelyYou Founder and CEO George Netscher, senior living operators should not jump head-first into a contract for a new software platform. Instead, they should evaluate AI tools based on their history followed by test cases to solve specific areas within operations and care delivery.

“Let operators test it and double-down on that,” Netscher told me. “In this world of AI, we’re going to get sold so much snake oil, unfortunately, that it’s really important that operators have a way they can test things appropriately and see actual, demonstrated benefits.”

‘Things we haven’t imagined yet’

DeepSeek’s rise to prominence represents a good development for the senior living industry and its quest to scale up in AI, according to Netscher, who hails from the University of California-Berkley’s AI Research Lab.

“If the [AI] infrastructure layer becomes more affordable, you can make it more accessible, which is beneficial to everyone, ” Netscher told me.

He added, “There are things that we haven’t imagined yet that are going to be really meaningful.”

The senior living industry has the important task of providing resident care and creating a homelike environment for all people, and I see the inherent value in operators engaging more closely with AI-supported technology in the future.

Implementing these open-source AI models like DeepSeek in the future could lower “the adoption barrier for senior living providers,” creating new solutions that improve operating performance, cost efficiency, transparency, security and customization, Macquarie US Equity Research Senior Healthcare Research Analyst Tao Qui told me.

“DeepSeek’s open-source architecture and modular design empower senior living providers to refine, modify and adapt the model to meet their specific needs,” Qui said.

Regardless of what AI tools become widely adopted in the senior living industry, DeepSeek’s disruption shows future developments in AI-supported platforms could accelerate the pace of innovation in health care and beyond. But as Netscher pointed out, I think senior living operators should not rush headlong to ride the wave of AI, or they might fall victim to “snake oil” along the way.

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