Robot study gives seniors say in era of AI

It’s no longer the stuff of sci-fi: AI sidekicks that simulate emotional support and guide routines.

Robot companions are increasingly becoming part of everyday life for seniors, with certain U.S. states even subsidizing such devices for personal use through public health-care programs.

Among the many ethical questions this raises: what’s to be done with these robots, and all the secrets and personal data they carry, after the owner dies?

“We don’t know the answers. That’s why I’m running a study. It’s a participatory study with seniors,” said Clara Xie, a PhD student in computer science at the University of Calgary, who is conducting research at the University of Manitoba.

Xie will lead focus groups with seniors next month at Louis Riel Library, where they will make collages and write stories with robot companions.

Xie’s project was among several showcased Thursday at AgeTech Discovery Day at the Holiday Inn Winnipeg South. The event, held on National Seniors Day, was hosted by the U of M’s multidisciplinary Centre on Aging with AGE-WELL, a network of academic researchers, private corporations and public funders working on technologies and services for the aging.

Another highlighted project was BankBox, which simulates the online banking interfaces of Canada’s major banks so older adults can get the hang of transferring money and paying bills when the stakes are low.

“There’s going to be security concerns, low confidence or just not knowing how to navigate the interface. But that’s not a good way to learn online banking” said Mehran Hossain, a master’s student in the U of M’s computer science program who worked on BankBox’s development. “It’s really important that you have a safe platform. So that’s the motivation behind building it.”

Beyond showcasing the centre’s nifty new technologies and AgeTech research — from virtual-reality tools and directories for navigating digital legacies for deceased loved ones to fall-prevention apps and supports for socially isolated seniors — the event also invited attendees to sign up for future focus groups.

“A big tenet of this kind of work is we shouldn’t just have engineers or computer scientists in a lab saying, ‘Hey, I think we should design this for older adults,’ and then they design it, and older adults go, ‘Hey, I’m not going to use this. This is no good for me,’” said kinesiologist Michelle Porter, the Centre on Aging’s director.

“So, there’s really an attempt to make sure that older adults are very involved in the entire process.”

Porter encouraged interested participants to become a member of Voice Canada, a platform connecting older adults to researchers on the Centre on Aging’s website.

Ralph Christianson, who drove in from Steinbach to participate in the event, said he was concerned about AI-generated content he sometimes sees online and how to sort the real from the fake.

“I can’t say with 100 per cent certainty, but I (don’t think I’ve) been fooled by anybody yet,” he says. “The stories that we’ve seen recently in the last month or two about how we could destroy humanity in 10 years (with AI). That’s a little frightening — but can they really do it?”

Christianson thinks it’s important for older adults to stay up to date on everyday technologies that could most affect them.

“I try as much as possible. Although because I don’t know how to operate a smartphone, I need to learn that one day,” he says.

conrad.sweatman@winnipegfreepress.com