A geriatrician explains why AI for older adults deserves careful scrutiny

UCSF geriatrician James Deardorff has published commentary in STAT News examining the use of artificial intelligence in decisions affecting older adults’ care. According to the report, Deardorff addresses both the potential advantages and the risks such systems pose when applied to a population he identifies as particularly vulnerable.

The piece, appearing under STAT’s subscriber-only STAT+ designation, frames AI’s growing presence in healthcare decision-making as a development warranting close examination rather than either wholesale endorsement or rejection. Deardorff’s remarks, as summarized in the report, focus on the specific circumstances of older patients, whose care often involves complex, individualized judgments that may not translate cleanly into algorithmic frameworks.

The report does not detail specific AI systems, institutions, or policies beyond identifying Deardorff’s affiliation with UCSF and his clinical specialty in geriatrics. It presents his views as those of a practicing physician assessing how emerging technology intersects with an area of medicine already marked by attention to individual variability among patients.

Published September 18, 2026, the article is characterized by STAT News as an explanatory piece rather than a news report of a specific incident or study release. No additional sourcing, data, or named institutions beyond UCSF and STAT News itself appear in the material provided. The bulletin is limited accordingly to what the summary and headline convey about Deardorff’s stated concerns and the general subject of AI’s application to eldercare decision-making.