IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2017 - 63

taking on the "dull and dirty" tasks of cleaning and
housekeeping could deprive someone of valuable social
interaction [11]. It's a type of daily interaction that study
participant Barb Plamondon talked about when she
described how she and her caregivers support each
other when they are having a bad day [9].
Anne Sadoway aged 84, is skeptical a robot could
ever become a friend with whom she could have a real
conversation.
"I'd rather talk to a person any day," says Anne.
"They (robots) are just giving out what's programmed
into them" [12].
In her book Reclaiming Conversation, renowned
social scientist and psychologist Sherry Turkle explores
the idea of artificial intelligence (AI) and technology
attempting to assume the role of a real companion or
friend. While robots, she explains, can be programmed
to answer questions or display emotions, they lack the
fulsome experience of having lived a life, and cannot
respond or react to humans in what she terms an
authentic conversation [13, p. 339].
As Turkle points out, AI can know a person's routine,
their preferences, or perhaps the kind of films they enjoy
watching. However Turkle argues AI can only pretend to act
as a friend, and not be a credible substitute for a human
who too, has experienced the highs and lows of real life
such as profound loss, love, or misfortune [13, p. 340].
Whether it's friendly banter between caregiver and
resident, or the feel of human hands on their body, the
seniors in the study groups agreed the physical presence of another person is important in their lives.
"I'd rather have the personal touch," says Anne Sadoway. Anne tells a story about how caregivers reacted
when her husband of over sixty years died. She says
caregivers sent her cards and one even took her dog
outside for a walk during a snowstorm.
"The caregivers have that personal touch," says
Anne. "They felt really bad. One of the nurses in there,
when she got into our room after he passed away, the
nurse got down on her hands and knees and balled.
'I'm going to miss him so much,' she told me" [14].
Ralph Leibo is 71 years old and has cerebral palsy.
As he gets older, he needs more help with tasks such as
making his breakfast, or putting on his specially made
shoes. He sees the robot as cold and impersonal.
"I don't want a piece of metal. They're programmed
to do a lot of stuff, but I would not want a robot to touch
me. I wouldn't feel safe at all."
"As more we get into the technology age, maybe
there is a robot they'd probably be programmed, that
could put the right type of pills in (my mouth), but I still
wouldn't have that trust" [15].
Participants were both amused and leery about
robotic caregivers. Fear was expressed by comments
june 2017

∕

stating that having a robot could make them mentally
and physically dependent on the robot, causing them to
lose more control over their lives.
They were also uncomfortable with what they
described as the coldness and impersonal nature of a
robot, conjuring up science fiction like images of monsters and demons.
Irene Bosch, the only senior who expressed an interest in actually having a robotic caregiver offered a poignant observation about trust and capability.
"They could be very destructive," she said. "Have a
lot of work done to them. It would be so simple for them
to get rid of you."
"For a robot to get rid of a person?" I asked her.
"If it was built into them. It depends on the manufacturer making them and what's built in, because I'm sure
they're built to destroy, as well as do work." She also
had images of a scary creature invading her room, in
the dark.

Some robots are easing into everyday
life in a socially engaging way.

"Go into an operating room, and somebody is coming towards you with a long skinny fingers going to
probe you I think I'd be a little scared too. Surgeons
used them all the time. Drill in your head...ha. But I'm
not too sure, in a dark room, something coming at
me" [16].
Anne Sadoway feels it would take a lot for her to trust
a robot. "I don't think I'd feel safe, I'd rather have a person. I'd rather trust a person. I would still come and go,
as I want. I wouldn't listen to the robot."
While some expressed a willingness to have a robot
carry groceries, or to go shopping with them, there was
the reluctance to hand over too many responsibilities.
Barbara Plamondon worried about what would happen
to the caregivers she now has, and what would happen
to her physical abilities as she ages, if a robot was doing
all the heavy lifting.
"If the robot would do it for you, you become lazy
then." You'd be like, I don't like doing it, I'll let 'Georgie'
do it or whatever" [17].
While replacing a human caregiver with a robot could
contribute to an elderly person's social isolation, the
addition of a robot to their environment in a supportive
role could potentially enhance their quality of life [18].
Such was the case when Tangy the bingo playing
robot moved into a personal care home in Ontario,

IEEE Technology and Society Magazine

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - June 2017