Talking Robot Helps Seniors Fight Loneliness
2024-01-08
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1Joyce Loaiza lives alone in a community for older people in the American state of Florida.
2When she is home, the retired office worker often talks with a friendly female voice that asks about her day.
3A few kilometers away, the same voice helped 83-year-old Deanna Dezern when her friend died.
4In New York state, it plays games and music for 92-year-old Marie Broadbent.
5And in Washington state, it helps 83-year-old Jan Worrell make new friends.
6The women are some of the first in the United States to receive the robot ElliQ made by Intuition Robotics.
7The company and other officials say it is the only device using artificial intelligence (AI) to help older Americans from loneliness.
8"It's entertaining. You can actually talk to her," said Loaiza who is 81.
9Her ElliQ calls her "Jellybean" for no clear reason.
10She said, "She'll make comments like, 'I would go outside if I had hands, but I can't hold an umbrella.'"
11The device looks like a small table light and it has an eyeless, mouthless head that lights up and turns.
12It remembers each user's interests and their talks, helping create a special experience with each new discussion.
13They can be as deep as the meaning of life or as light as a small joke.
14ElliQ also plays music and provides creative or spiritual sayings.
15On a video screen that comes with it, it will show different cities and places of interest.
16The device leads exercises, asks about the owner's health, and gives reminders to take medicines and drink water.
17It can also support video calls and contact family, friends, or doctors in an emergency.
18Intuition Robotics says none of the conversations are heard by the company, with the information staying on each owner's device.
19Intuition Robotics chief executive office Dor Skuler said the idea for ElliQ came before he launched his Israeli company eight years ago.
20His grandfather who lost his partner needed an aide, but the first did not work out.
21The next person, though, understood his grandfather's love of music and his special sense of humor.
22Skuler then thought a robot could fill the space of a friend by adapting to each person and their interests.
23He said, "That just did not exist anywhere."
24The average user interacts with ElliQ more than 30 times a day and more than 90 percent report lower levels of loneliness, Skuler said.
25The robots are mostly sent out by state agencies in New York, Florida, Michigan, Nevada and Washington.
26But they can also be bought individually for $600 a year plus $250 to set it up.
27Skuler would not say how many ElliQs have been sent out so far, but the goal is to have more than 100,000 out within five years.
28Brigham Young University professor Julianne Holt-Lunstad studies the effects of loneliness on health.
29Holt-Lunstad worries that a device like ElliQ might have short-term helpful effects but it could make people less likely to seek human contact.
30She told The Associated Press that the difficult feeling of loneliness should push people to reconnect socially.
31Skuler and state officials agreed that ElliQ is not a replacement for human contact.
32But some older people cannot leave home or do not have many friends.
33Greg Olsen is director of the New York State Office for the Aging.
34His office has sent out 750 of the 900 ElliQs it received.
35He said he wished that he could "make a person show up at the home of one of the many, many older adults that don't have any family or friends."
36Charlotte Mather-Taylor is director of the Broward County, Florida, Area Agency on Aging.
37She said the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath left many older people more disconnected.
38Her agency has provided 300 ElliQs which, she believes, help the situation.
39She said, "We've seen very positive results with it. People generally like her and she makes them smile and brings joy."
40I'm Gregory Stachel.
1Joyce Loaiza lives alone in a community for older people in the American state of Florida. When she is home, the retired office worker often talks with a friendly female voice that asks about her day. 2A few kilometers away, the same voice helped 83-year-old Deanna Dezern when her friend died. In New York state, it plays games and music for 92-year-old Marie Broadbent. And in Washington state, it helps 83-year-old Jan Worrell make new friends. 3The women are some of the first in the United States to receive the robot ElliQ made by Intuition Robotics. The company and other officials say it is the only device using artificial intelligence (AI) to help older Americans from loneliness. 4"It's entertaining. You can actually talk to her," said Loaiza who is 81. Her ElliQ calls her "Jellybean" for no clear reason. She said, "She'll make comments like, 'I would go outside if I had hands, but I can't hold an umbrella.'" 5The device looks like a small table light and it has an eyeless, mouthless head that lights up and turns. It remembers each user's interests and their talks, helping create a special experience with each new discussion. They can be as deep as the meaning of life or as light as a small joke. 6ElliQ also plays music and provides creative or spiritual sayings. On a video screen that comes with it, it will show different cities and places of interest. The device leads exercises, asks about the owner's health, and gives reminders to take medicines and drink water. It can also support video calls and contact family, friends, or doctors in an emergency. 7Intuition Robotics says none of the conversations are heard by the company, with the information staying on each owner's device. 8Intuition Robotics chief executive office Dor Skuler said the idea for ElliQ came before he launched his Israeli company eight years ago. His grandfather who lost his partner needed an aide, but the first did not work out. The next person, though, understood his grandfather's love of music and his special sense of humor. 9Skuler then thought a robot could fill the space of a friend by adapting to each person and their interests. He said, "That just did not exist anywhere." 10The average user interacts with ElliQ more than 30 times a day and more than 90 percent report lower levels of loneliness, Skuler said. 11The robots are mostly sent out by state agencies in New York, Florida, Michigan, Nevada and Washington. But they can also be bought individually for $600 a year plus $250 to set it up. Skuler would not say how many ElliQs have been sent out so far, but the goal is to have more than 100,000 out within five years. 12Brigham Young University professor Julianne Holt-Lunstad studies the effects of loneliness on health. Holt-Lunstad worries that a device like ElliQ might have short-term helpful effects but it could make people less likely to seek human contact. She told The Associated Press that the difficult feeling of loneliness should push people to reconnect socially. 13Skuler and state officials agreed that ElliQ is not a replacement for human contact. But some older people cannot leave home or do not have many friends. 14Greg Olsen is director of the New York State Office for the Aging. His office has sent out 750 of the 900 ElliQs it received. He said he wished that he could "make a person show up at the home of one of the many, many older adults that don't have any family or friends." 15Charlotte Mather-Taylor is director of the Broward County, Florida, Area Agency on Aging. She said the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath left many older people more disconnected. Her agency has provided 300 ElliQs which, she believes, help the situation. 16She said, "We've seen very positive results with it. People generally like her and she makes them smile and brings joy." 17I'm Gregory Stachel. 18Carla K. Johnson reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 19_____________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21artificial intelligence - n. an area of computer science that deals with giving machines the ability to seem like they have human intelligence 22actually - n. a long period of time during which there is very little or no rain 23umbrella - n. a device that is used for protection from the rain and sun 24adapt - v. to change (something) so that it functions better or is better suited for a purpose 25interacts - v. to talk or do things with other people or objects 26positive - adj. good or useful 27joy - n. a feeling of great happiness