A deep look at whether social robots can help ease loneliness among the elderly in the US, where 21 states have distributed free robot pets to older residents
For elderly Americans, social isolation is especially perilous. Will machine companions fill the void? — It felt good to love again, in that big empty house. Tweets: @sarahshoker and @hujane Tweets: Sarah Shoker / @sarahshoker : A happy coincidence in light of today's discussion on AI and robot companionship—the @NewYorker published a piece by @katieengelhart on companion robots in eldercare! This quote stuck out to me: “And I refer to her as someone,” Deanna said. https://www.newyorker.com/... Jane Hu / @hujane : for anyone who's been reading Ishiguro's latest, this is an interesting companion piece — i couldn't help but notice its literary anecdotes (Dickinson's poetry, Sylvia Plath's depressive novel, the relationship between loving a robot vs. a book!) https://www.newyorker.com/...