IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2017 - 62

require assistance getting out of bed, going to the bathroom, or reaching the cafeteria for breakfast in the
morning. These are deeply personal tasks that require
trust and tenderness, and sometimes compassion.
At first, the seniors find the idea of a robotic caregiver amusing, and jokes about how it would function in a
bathroom belie the seriousness of the conversation.
"I got lots of friends, I got relatives that come to visit.
I don't need no robot," John tells the others.
They all nod in agreement, then one of the women
adds, "It would be better than nothing." And nothing is
what is staring down the elder care system, prompting a
worldwide search for caregiving solutions that includes
robots to fill the void [4].
Smaller families, longer life expectancy and relatives
living further away from home are cited as major reasons why there is now and will continue to be a chronic
shortage of caregivers for the elderly [5]. Adding to the

Overwhelmingly, seniors believe a
robot would remove another person
from their lives, or at the very least,
reduce the amount of time they now
spend with a human.

problem, the field of caregiving for the elderly is physically and emotionally demanding, while compensation
and benefits are notoriously low [6].
Out of the 31 seniors who watch the film, Irene
Bosch, is the only person who says she would seriously
be willing to have a robot caregiver, or at least try it out.
"What would you do if one day you got a knock on
the door, and it was a robot?" I ask her.
"I'd be amazed," she laughs back. "Well, if they could
do the same job, it would be okay. I'd try it. I'm not saying I would last very long with it, but I would give it a try."
"It would be something extra to see what I would get
out of it. Curiosity, as we get older we want to try new
ideas while we're still here" [7].
Why the reluctance from all the rest to adopt a robotic caregiver?
For the next few hours we talk about the importance
of their personal caregiver, and how a robot could
improve on some of those tasks. Overwhelmingly however, they believe a robot would remove another person
from their lives, or at the very least, reduce the amount
of time they now spend with a human.

After a lengthy discussion about robots, the conversation segues into the topic of personal relationships,
the importance of love, the feeling of a caring touch,
the fear of losing more independence, and fear of a
robot itself.
At 73, Gerald Gagnon is one of the younger residents
at the Beverley apartment complex. Still, he comes next
door to the adjoining lodge where meals are served, so
he can be around others. There's a piano, a budgie bird
against the window, and a few card games going on.
"I went into a deep depression after my wife died
from a heart attack," he tells me.
"Companionship changes as you get older. You need
that, that bond," he says, while struggling to come up
with just the right way to describe his loneliness
at times.
When spouses have died, children are absent and
friends have moved on, Gerald tells me that caregivers
take on an almost familial role. "I would miss it," Gerald
told me, "Because I like to tease. Companionship
changes as you get older" [8].
Barbara Plamondon ended an abusive marriage after
28 years. The stability of a regular caregiver provides
her with more than just a service. Her children are
spread out across Canada, and she's gone from hosting
large family dinners once a week in a full house, to a
tiny apartment where she lives alone. Barbara though,
remains socially active in her apartment complex and
has plenty of friends. But she says there is a give and
take of a two-way relationship that develops with a caregiver over time. And that's what she would miss if her
caregiver were a robot.
"We laugh and joke together the girls and myself.
And we comfort each other that way. Sometimes they're
having a bad day, they need a little bit of support and I
try to make them feel better you know. Sometimes I
have a really bad day, and really appreciate the fact that
they do little extras for us" [9].
Those "little extras," according to Barb might mean
staying a bit longer to chat, or making a fresh pot of
tea [10].
As a person ages, Barbara says people need more
attention from people, not less. "You need more loving
care. You do, you look for it, and you need it. If somebody's giving you a little bit of loving care, we soak it up,
believe me, because you don't always get that" [10].
"The way the world is today. Our children's ways are
changing too. They're doing differently you know.
They've got all their little phones and stuff. They don't
think about you know. 'Mom, this is different times you
know things are different today you know'" [10].
The removal of a caregiver working with a senior
could increase loneliness and depression in the elderly
population struggling to maintain a social network. Even

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june 2017

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