You’ve got a friend in me: sociable robots for older adults in an age of global pandemics

Abstract

Social isolation and loneliness are ongoing threats to health made worse by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. During the pandemic, half the globe's population have been placed under strict physical distancing orders and many long-term care facilities serving older adults went into lockdown mode, restricting access to all visitors, including family members. Before the pandemic emerged, a 2020 National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report warned of the underappreciated adverse effects of social isolation and loneliness on health, especially among older populations. Social isolation and loneliness predict all-cause mortality at rates that rival clinical risk factors, such as obesity and smoking; they are associated with greater incidence of psychological, cognitive, and physical morbidities. This paper sets forth a proposal to design robots to function as companions and friends for socially isolated and lonely older people during pandemic emergencies and in aging societies more generally. "The proposal" section presents and defends the proposal. The "Replies to objections" section answers objections based on coercive design, replacement of humans with robots, privacy incursions, and counterfeit companionship. The "Conclusion" section submits that sociable robots offer a promising avenue for addressing social isolation and loneliness during pandemics and hold promise for aging societies more broadly.

A literature survey of the robotic technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…During the pandemic, it is specifically necessary to consider the needs of the special group of citizens. The pandemic-related challenge for elder adults was reviewed and the design of life-like robots was suggested, since their capability of fostering the sense of social rapport [ 112 ]. The soft designs also reflect the soft structures in nature, which leads to a certain level of comfort.…”

Robots as intelligent assistants to face COVID-19 pandemic

“…In [ 8 ], the effects of isolation in older people is considered based on extensive bibliographic research. It is recognized from the results of pre-COVID scientific research that social isolation increases morbidities in elderly patients due to induced depression, anxiety, panic, etc.…”

It’s Friendship, Jim, but Not as We Know It: A Degrees-of-Friendship View of Human–Robot Friendships

“…In the above, John Tasioulas highlights an important aspect of human–robot relationships: the type of robot that we are talking about matters. Jecker’s ( 2020 ) proposal—that we create robot friends for the socially isolated—has considerably more impact and appeal if, like her, we understand robot friends in terms of fairly advanced social robots, rather than smart fridges or robotic vacuums. For the remainder of this article, I will thus be focusing on friendships with social robots.…”

“…Many people (particularly those from vulnerable groups) are shielding or in lockdown, and consequently have limited real-world access to human friends and family. Jecker ( 2020 , ‘abstract’) argues that one solution to this issue would be “…to design robots to function as companions and friends for socially isolated and lonely older people during pandemic emergencies and in aging societies more generally.” On Jecker’s view, the concept of ‘robot friendship’ is increasingly important; it could be a vital lifeline for many. As Jecker ( 2020 , ‘counterfeit companions’) states, human–robot friendships are positive in this way because “…they can protect our health and enrich our lives.”…”