New York Gives Seniors AI Robots – What Could Go Wrong?

If you’re a lonely senior citizen, New York has a solution. They’ll give you a robot companion.

Nope, this is not science fiction any longer.

New York has introduced a new AI robot called ElliQ, to help combat loneliness among its senior residents with around 900 being handed out over the last two years. This voice-activated robot-companion has been distributed for free to elderly adults as part of an initiative led by the New York State Office for the Aging.

ElliQ features a small screen and a separate device resembling a head, which can swivel and light up when it speaks. Unlike other voice-activated devices like Amazon’s Alexa, ElliQ can initiate conversations, and is supposed to be a more interactive experience, according to the New York Times.

Since January, New York has also provided approximately 30 ElliQ robots to assisted-living facilities in a separate program designed to aid individuals transitioning back to independent living. Many elderly New Yorkers have embraced ElliQ, with users reporting significant improvements in their daily lives. Around 900 robots have been given out since the pilot phase started two years ago.

This AI “companionship” has been covered by local news before, but hasn’t made significant waves nationally yet.

Ohhhhhhkay. Where to begin.

Let’s start with the part that should have been obvious to anyone with half a brain – the isolation from the COVID-19 lockdowns was devastating to seniors. Not only did it end up being fatal in New York state thanks to then-Governor Andrew Cuomo’s insane plan to put COVID-positive seniors BACK IN their nursing homes, but the effect of isolation was just as detrimental to the mental health of these seniors who were often locked away in care facilities and unable to see or touch family members for months on end.

“Placing the COVID pandemic aside for a moment, societal trends have led us to the point where older adults are more likely to be isolated or lonely,” said Kathleen Zuke, MPH, senior program manager, Center for Healthy Aging, National Council on Aging (NCOA).

While social relationships are widely considered crucial to emotional well-being, Zuke said social isolation and loneliness can also have a negative impact on physical health. She pointed to a 2018 study on potential health risk factors of social isolation and loneliness, in which the author concluded that being socially connected significantly reduces risk for premature mortality, while being socially unconnected significantly increases risk. Moreover, these social isolation factors have a larger impact on mortality than factors that currently receive substantial public health attention such as obesity, physical inactivity and air pollution.

The study presented evidence that social isolation increases risk for depression, cognitive decline, and dementia, and directly influences medication/treatment adherence, blood pressure, immune functioning and inflammation, as well as the ability to conduct activities of daily living (ADL).

The effects of COVID isolation may be particularly acute among older adults in long-term care (LTC) facilities, as outlined in an AARP report that suggests feelings of loneliness, abandonment, despair and fear among residents – and their toll on physical and neurological health – are pushing the pandemic’s death toll higher.

“Before the pandemic, individuals in LTC facilities could benefit from the social connections and mental stimulation provided by visiting friends and family,” Zuke said. “Now, while staff members can try to provide interactions, they also have other tasks they need to focus on, making it impossible for them to be the sole source of interaction. Fortunately, restrictions are easing up somewhat.”

While the above article is from 2021, the problem has not abated. Remember, the Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, announced in May 2023 that there was an “Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation” declared that “Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation has been an underappreciated public health crisis that has harmed individual and societal health.” And that wasn’t even focused on seniors – that was across the entire population. Nothing has gotten better, and a government program can solve loneliness by declaring it an “epidemic” is not going to work. New York state decided that ROBOTS were the best bet to help lonely seniors. Not community programs, not faith-based outreach groups, not volunteers – ROBOTS.

Speaking of which, this artificial intelligence is “initiating conversations” and learning and responding to the seniors it is talking to. Uh, who has access to that data?

Concerns have been raised about the potential for data harvesting and privacy violations, particularly given the vulnerability of the elderly population. “We have to hurry up and pass some guardrails so that this technology doesn’t take off with all of our information and data and use it in ways we wouldn’t otherwise permit,” (Manhattan Assemblywoman Linda) Rosenthal added.

State Senator Kristen Gonzalez echoed these concerns, “It’s incumbent on the state government to act and say how we are storing, protecting, and using that data and how we are making sure it’s not being used in any way that could negatively affect users.”

Any “smart” device that is in the home introduces privacy concerns, even for the most aware of users who pay for the experience. Amazon’s Alexa, and Ring cameras have already been the target of Federal Trade Commission complaints about companies or employees playing fast and loose with user data. While Intuition Robotics, the company that owns these ElliQ AI robots, promises that they are “HIPAA compliant,” they also admit that they are taking in a whole lot of personal data in their privacy policy. Are the seniors who are getting ElliQ devices from the New York State Office for the Aging also being walked through the privacy policy? Or are they simply given the device, having it plugged in and connected to the wi-fi, and then left with their new “companion” robot? I’m guessing it’s the latter.

Finally, how pathetic is it that the New York “solution” for loneliness in senior citizens is to simply give them a device that is designed to mimic human connection, but ends up separating the seniors from any additional human support? How often does the Office for the Aging check in on the seniors who have these devices? Did anyone offer them actual social services, like senior center groups or meal programs or school groups looking to earn community service hours? Or did New York just figure the robots were good enough, and that was that? They’ve handed out around NINE HUNDRED of these things. That means nearly a thousand seniors who are using this device instead of having an actual human make daily contact with them.

Our society is already in a sad place when it comes to the health and care of our senior citizens. If Artificial Intelligence becomes the substitute for human interaction, and the state pats itself on the back for a job well done, God help us all.

Featured image via kiquebg on Pixabay, cropped, Pixabay license

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