Background: Quality or healthy aging refers to well-being in an older age. In the light of recent changes in the discourse on approaches on positive aging, we aimed to study the way “quality aging” is understood, expressed, and dealt with as a part of contemporary technology assessment (TA), since the nexus between demographic and technological changes has remained a staple topic in TA for at least three decades. Methods: A bottom-up qualitative content analysis was performed to identify the concepts of quality aging in the final reports of a sample of five recent national and international (predominantly participatory) TA projects (pTA). Despite being highly variable in contexts, methods, topics, and funding schemes, these projects display a common core of investigating desirable frameworks and futures for an aging society from the perspective of a citizen, stakeholder, and expert. We identified overarching patterns across different reports through clustering of codified texts and meta-analysis. Results: As a recurring pattern, we identified seven primary topical sectors, known as the building blocks of what may be attributed a TA perspective on quality aging: ethics,OBM resources, activity, interaction, education, health, and policy. These are described by referring to a network of more than 40 topical sub-themes. Conclusions: The findings from the present study emphasize the need for a changed view on aging for individuals, their peers and society; a discussion of resources required to choose, understand, purchase, install, and properly maintain supportive technologies; and more integrated policy measures creating trust in communal services and infrastructure; and avoiding marginalizing and stigmatizing aging as a problem and as an ever-lasting economic challenge.

Ambient and assistive technologies (AT) have the potential to increase individual autonomy, social participation and quality of life for ageing populations. In seeking to implement these technologies, national and supranational funding schemes have strongly supported primarily market-driven research activities. This means that other societally relevant aspects, such as specific social and cultural contexts, are likely to be underestimated if not neglected. In view of the development of RI, this would be a serious misconception. We examine three recent participatory forward-looking technology assessment studies that involved experts, stakeholders and laypersons in discussions about the future of ageing and AT, and identify the diverse futures they imagine. We show different ways an ageing society of the future can be pictured, and contribute to the discourse on European demographic change as a Grand Challenge. In the light of RI, this diversity of imagined futures underlines the finding that answers to societal challenges connected to an ageing population cannot only be found by means of technological solutions, societal aspects will also play an important role.

This paper highlights some major challenges involved in the research and technology development process for assistive technologies. Referring to a research project conducted by the authors, the outcomes include an analysis of goals and concepts of assistive technologies as well as the context of their application. Trade-offs that include the risk of substituting human assistance by technology, a threat to privacy or unintended side effects regarding their use should be considered at the outset of the research and technological development process. As far as funding schemes are concerned, programmes need to include an evaluation of the impact of assistive technologies in a broader socio-economic, cultural and socio-political context. Hence the underlying normative assumptions need to be scrutinised before the process begins.