• Who gets to participate in the age of AI?

In a recent piece from the World Economic Forum, libraries across Japan are being quietly redefined, from repositories of books into platforms for connection, participation, and care. The shift comes as social ties weaken, and nearly 30% of the population is over 65. What’s emerging is a new understanding of infrastructure: participation itself is a public health lever, linked to lower risks of long-term care and longer lives. Across the country, libraries are responding by hosting events, integrating health support, and drawing people back into community life. This is already visible in the work of Ashoka Fellow Mark Swift through Wellbeing Enterprises CIC, where social prescribing connects people to community activities as part of care. Participation is the intervention. Across contexts, from clinics to libraries, public institutions are being redefined as engines of connection, agency, and collective well-being. Read more.

A new report from EY, Understanding Older Generations' Adoption of AI, shifts the AI conversation beyond younger users. A survey of more than 2,000 people aged 60–85 across 16 countries finds strong interest and optimism among older adults, many of whom already use AI for learning, health, and travel. The gap is not willingness. It is access, trust, and knowing where to start. At the same time, a piece in Fast Company makes a counterintuitive case: women over 50 may be among the most valuable workers in the age of AI, bringing judgment, adaptability, and the ability to navigate uncertainty shaped by decades of experience. The issue is not adoption. It is design, and increasingly, value; echoing the work of Ashoka Fellow Elena Parras Duran and 55+, which creates pathways for continued contribution later in life.

Still on AI, in Forbes, AI, Jobs and Retirement: Rethinking the New Work Contract, the focus shifts from who participates to how the system itself is changing. For decades, the deal was simple: stable employment in exchange for long-term security. That structure is now breaking down, as companies cut roles while rehiring on shorter, more flexible terms. At the same time, decision-making is shifting earlier; people are researching, questioning, and forming views before any professional enters the picture. The result is a move from predictable careers to what some are calling “defined uncertainty,” where workers carry more risk with fewer guarantees. Work is no longer designed to carry people into retirement, and retirement has not been redesigned to function without it. Read more in Portuguese.

  • The care system is under pressure

A recent piece from CNN highlights a persistent gender gap in caregiving and its impact on well-being. Women are more likely to take on care roles and are more likely to experience strain on their physical and emotional health, even when performing similar tasks as men. The difference is not only in what is done, but in what is expected, with women carrying a greater emotional burden and less recognition. As populations age and care demands rise, this is no longer a private issue. It is playing out across households and economies, reflected in efforts like Ashoka Fellow Edith Elliott and Noora Health, which integrate family caregiver support into public health systems. Care is being absorbed by households, disproportionately by women, with consequences that shape health, work, and economic security.

In The New York Times, a story from Japan shows how far caregiving systems are being stretched. Facing acute workforce shortages, nursing homes are turning to an unlikely group: bodybuilders, wrestlers, and MMA fighters to fill care roles. The logic is practical; physical strength helps with lifting and mobility. These recruits can move bodies. Care is not only physical. It requires judgment, continuity, and human connection, an approach advanced by Ashoka Fellow Christian Ntizimira, whose work centres dignity and cultural context in care. As demand rises and systems strain, the question is no longer how to fill gaps but what kind of care those gaps are producing.

As Michael Clinton writes in Longevity Nation, “As more people live into their 80s, 90s, and beyond, traditional models of aging no longer apply. The second half of life is being redefined by reinvention, purpose, and continued contribution.”

  • Fellows in action

  • Ashoka Fellow Laura Baena (Spain) is taking the care conversation to the center of policy. Her Yo No Renuncio movement will present proposals to Spain’s Congress calling for a State Pact on work and family balance. By reframing Mother’s Day as a moment for policy, not symbolism, the campaign draws on real cases from its legal helpline to push for reforms that recognize caregiving as a public responsibility embedded in labor systems.Read more. 

 

  • Ashoka Fellow Connie Siskowski (USA) is bringing visibility to a system most institutions still overlook. Her model for supporting caregiving youth is gaining global recognition, with features in Forbes and a Churchill Fellowship report positioning it as a best practice. With more than 700 students already supported in one county alone, the work challenges schools and policymakers to account for how care responsibilities are already shaping education, health, and opportunity. Read more. 

 

  • Ashoka Fellow Tomás Olivieri Acosta (Argentina) is designing digital tools with older adults in mind. His virtual assistant DIAGUI is expanding across Latin America through a new partnership, supporting financial literacy, job search, and entrepreneurship for people 50 and above. As AI becomes part of everyday decision-making, tools like this begin to close the gap between access and meaningful use. Read more. 

 

  • Ashoka Fellow Nalini Saligram (India) is demonstrating what prevention at scale can look like. Her Healthy Schools Program has reached close to 2 million children in rural India, with a Stanford evaluation showing measurable gains in health behaviours and physical activity. The results strengthen the case for embedding prevention early, before risk becomes a burden. Read more.

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Your Turn

Care is not only a household issue. It is a global design challenge. From 28–30 May 2026 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the MenCare Changemaker Summit, co-organized by Equimundo and WOW Women of the World, will bring together leaders across sectors to rethink care and masculinity. Register now.

In 2026, we aim to support 10 new Ashoka Fellows advancing longevity by raising $1 million. Your contribution will help identify, elect, and scale these leaders, ensuring longer lives become better lives. Donate

Ashoka is actively seeking exceptional social innovators driving systems change in New Longevity across healthy living, lifelong contribution, caregiving, intergenerational connection, and narrative change. These changemakers are reshaping how we live and age. Do you know someone transforming the future of longevity? Nominate an Ashoka Fellow today!