From Checking to Sensemaking: A Caregiver-in-the-Loop Framework for AI-Assisted Task Verification in Dementia Care

Informal caregivers play a central role in enabling people living with dementia (PLwD) to remain at home, yet they face persistent challenges verifying whether daily tasks have been completed. Existing digital reminder systems prompt actions but rarely confirm outcomes, leaving caregivers to double-check tasks manually. This study explores how generative artificial intelligence (AI) might support caregiver-led task verification without displacing human judgment. We combined qualitative interviews with ten caregivers and one PLwD with a speculative simulation probe using a generative large language model to generate follow-up questions and flag responses for verification. Using template analysis, we identified three interrelated patterns of reasoning: detecting anomalies, constructing trustworthy evidence, and calibrating trust and control. These insights informed the Caregiver-in-the-Loop Task Verification (CLTV) framework, which models verification as a collaborative cycle of anomaly detection, evidence triangulation, AI-assisted summarization, and accountability circulation centered on caregiver oversight. CLTV advances human-AI collaboration theory by situating interpretability, trust, and control within the relational and emotional realities of dementia care and by offering design principles for transparent, adjustable, and context-aware AI support. We contribute a care-centered extension of human-AI collaboration theory, demonstrating how interpretability and trust can be operationalized through caregiver oversight.