Before my dad died from dementia, I built him a mock checkout platform to avoid huge purchases
A daughter creates an AI-powered mock checkout platform called ShieldCart to help her father, who suffers from dementia, manage his online shopping habits. The tool prevents accidental financial harm while allowing him to maintain a sense of independence.
Why it matters
It highlights the potential for assistive AI to solve specific, high-stakes caregiving challenges for aging populations.
Nikki Elbaz (left) and Hanna Miller (right) co-created ShieldCart after Miller's father developed dementia. ShieldCart Hanna Miller and Nikki Elbaz created ShieldCart to aid Miller's father with dementia. ShieldCart uses AI to simulate checkouts, allowing older users to shop without financial harm. Miller and Elbaz aim to expand ShieldCart, helping more families manage dementia-related challenges. Everyone in Hanna Miller's family knew her father as a giving and generous person. But as his dementia progressed , he couldn't recall that he'd already ordered something online just a few hours earlier. Gifts, like toys for the grandkids, piled up so quickly he couldn't easily pay for them. Watching his decline was heartbreaking. Miller's father was a biomathematics Ph.D. who spent his career in pharmaceuticals, living abroad but visiting often, always with suitcases full of presents.
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