A Systematic Review of Design Ethics in Intelligent Elderly Care (2010–2025): A Four-Pathway Structural Framework

Abstract

 In the context of the intertwined development of artificial intelligence and population aging, design ethics in intelligent elderly care has gradually emerged as a key interdisciplinary research focus. This study adopts a systematic literature review approach, drawing on publications from major Chinese and international databases from 2010 to 2025, and employs Cite Space (version 6.3.R1) for bibliometric and visualization analysis. The results show that a total of 51 relevant studies were identified. Keyword co-occurrence analysis reveals seven major clusters in the Chinese literature, including “ethical risk,” “smart technologies,” and “health monitoring,” while the international literature forms nine cluster structures. Temporal evolution analysis indicates that, after 2018, keywords such as “ethical risk,” “privacy,” and “responsibility” have increased significantly, suggesting a shift in research focus from functional and technological concerns toward ethical and societal issues. Further analysis reveals that existing studies are characterized by thematic fragmentation and insufficient cross-dimensional integration. In response, this paper proposes a four-dimensional structural pathway model encompassing functional, affective, ethical, and institutional dimensions, aiming to integrate the relationships between technological application and value governance. This model provides a systematic analytical framework for ethical evaluation and design optimization of intelligent elderly care systems.