An 81-Year-Old Helped Build the AI That Calls Older Americans Every Day

Saint Petersburg, Florida Aug 13, 2026 (Issuewire.com) Most technology built for older Americans is designed by people in their thirties. Call Mabels founder is 81. Dick Pahl is a Citadel graduate with a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering. He served as a U.S. Air Force Major and airborne weather reconnaissance officer with the 815th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron the Hurricane Hunters and later founded several companies. He is also his own companys target customer, and he says that is the point.

Most things built for people my age are built by people whove never been lonely a day in their lives, Pahl said. I got tired of being talked about instead of talked to.

Call Mabel is a daily companion phone call for people his age and younger anyone who is single or lives alone. At an agreed time each day, Mabel calls on a landline, a cell phone, whatever the person already uses and has a real conversation. She remembers what was said yesterday. If a call goes unanswered or something in the conversation sounds wrong, the family is notified. There is nothing for the older adult to download, charge, wear, or set up. That constraint drove the entire design.

Every product we looked at asked my generation to change something wear this, remember to charge that, learn this app, Pahl said. So it ends up in a drawer. A phone call doesnt ask you to learn anything. You just answer it, the way youve answered a phone your whole life.

The problem it addresses. About 26% of Americans age 65 and older lived alone in 2023 roughly one in four according to Pew Research Centers analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. In its 2023 advisory on loneliness and isolation, the U.S. Surgeon General wrote that the mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, and even greater than that associated with obesity and physical inactivity.

The people most affected are often not the ones buying. Adult children frequently living in another state are the ones awake at 3 a.m., wondering whether anyone spoke to their mother that day.

The daughter three states away isnt looking for a gadget, Pahl said. She wants to know somebody talked to her mother today, and that if somethings off, shell hear about it before it becomes an emergency.

What it is, and what it isnt. Call Mabel is a companion service. It is not a medical alert device, an emergency monitoring service, or a substitute for 911. Families who need fall detection or emergency response should have a device that provides it. Mabel provides something different: daily contact and a family that hears about a change early. Plans start at $29.97 per month across five tiers, with no long-term contract. The company is bootstrapped and has taken no outside investment.

About Call Mabel: Call Mabel provides daily AI companion phone calls for older adults aging in place, with optional family notifications, reminders, and a secure place to store important documents. Calls reach any phone the person already uses landline, cell, or internet-based and require no app, device, or setup on the recipient’s end. The company was founded in Florida by a small team with decades of combined experience starting and operating companies, and is bootstrapped with no outside investment. Subscription plans start at $29.97 per month with no long-term contract. Learn more at https://www.callmabel.com.

Sources: Pew Research Center, A smaller share of older U.S. adults live alone today than in 1990 (Dec. 2025), analyzing U.S. Census Bureau decennial census and American Community Survey data via IPUMS; U.S. Surgeon Generals Advisory, Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation (May 2023).

Notes for editors: Dick Pahl is available for interview, including on-camera. Founder photo, product screenshots, and brand assets on request at hello@callmabel.com.