| Title |
The Perceptions of AI Care and Biophilic Environments Among Chinese Seniors Aged 60 and Above |
| Authors |
공운(Kong, Yun); 푸티엔(Fu, Tian); 정미렴(Chung, Miryum) |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.14774/JKIID.2026.35.1.068 |
| Keywords |
smart elderly care; AI-assisted caregiving system; biophilic environment; Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; differences in urban context |
| Abstract |
By the end of 2024, the population aged 60 years and older in China reached 310.31 million, accounting for 22.0% of the total population. In this context, the design of smart elderly care spaces requires a balance between technological efficacy and humanistic care. This study aims to elucidate how the perceptions of older adults regarding AI-assisted caregiving and biophilic environments differ across urban contexts, and to derive spatial design implications. This study employed a questionnaire survey, with the questionnaire structured around Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and data were collected from 296 older adults aged 60?80 years in Tangshan and Jiujiang. The data were analyzed in SPSS, including descriptive statistics, scale validation, and between-city comparisons. Overall, AI-assisted caregiving systems are more effective in satisfying fundamental needs, such as health monitoring and risk early warning; biophilic environments enhance psychological experiences, including emotional relaxation and social engagement. Older adults in the two cities report similar perceptions regarding physiological and safety needs; however, pronounced between-city differences emerge for higher-level needs, including esteem and self-actualization. Based on these findings, the paper suggests prioritizing health and safety as fundamental guarantees through AI care systems, followed by urban-specific optimizations: in industrial cities, key intelligent functions should be concentrated in critical areas, with flexible integration of natural elements; in ecological cities, natural spaces should be enriched, with intelligent functions embedded in a low-interference manner to meet the diverse needs of the elderly. |