{"id":593170,"date":"2024-05-17T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-17T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/how-cuddly-robots-could-change-dementia-care\/"},"modified":"2024-05-17T10:22:48","modified_gmt":"2024-05-17T14:22:48","slug":"how-cuddly-robots-could-change-dementia-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/platohealth.ai\/how-cuddly-robots-could-change-dementia-care\/","title":{"rendered":"How cuddly robots could change dementia care","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"
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This article first appeared in The Checkup, <\/em>MIT Technology Review\u2019s weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first, <\/em>sign up here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em> <\/p>\n

Last week, I scoured the internet in search of a robotic dog. I wanted a belated birthday present for my aunt, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer\u2019s disease. Studies suggest that having a companion animal can stave off some of the loneliness, anxiety, and agitation that come with Alzheimer\u2019s. My aunt would love a real dog, but she can\u2019t have one.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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That\u2019s how I discovered the Golden Pup<\/a> from Joy for All. It cocks its head. It sports a jaunty red bandana. It barks when you talk. It wags when you touch it. It has a realistic heartbeat. And it\u2019s just one of the many, many robots designed for people with Alzheimer\u2019s and dementia.<\/p>\n

This week on The Checkup, join me as I go down a rabbit hole. Let\u2019s look at the prospect of  using robots to change dementia care.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Golden<\/figure>\n

As robots go, Golden Pup is decidedly low tech. It retails for $140. For around $6,000 you can opt for Paro, a fluffy robotic baby seal developed in Japan, which can sense touch, light, sound, temperature, and posture. Its manufacturer says it develops its own character, remembering behaviors that led its owner to give it attention.  <\/p>\n

Golden Pup and Paro are available now. But researchers are working on much more  sophisticated robots for people with cognitive disorders\u2014devices that leverage AI to converse and play games. Researchers from Indiana University Bloomington are tweaking a commercially available robot system called QT to serve people with dementia and Alzheimer\u2019s. The researchers\u2019 two-foot-tall robot looks a little like a toddler in an astronaut suit. Its round white head holds a screen that displays two eyebrows, two eyes, and a mouth that together form a variety of expressions. The robot engages people in  conversation, asking AI-generated questions to keep them talking. <\/p>\n

The AI model they\u2019re using isn\u2019t perfect, and neither are the robot\u2019s responses.<\/strong> In one awkward conversation<\/a>, a study participant told the robot that she has a sister. \u201cI\u2019m sorry to hear that,\u201d the robot responded. \u201cHow are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

But as large language models improve\u2014which is happening already<\/a>\u2014so will the quality of the conversations. When the QT robot made that awkward comment, it was running Open AI\u2019s GPT-3, which was released in 2020. The latest version of that model, GPT-4o, which was released this week<\/a>, is faster and provides for more seamless conversations. You can interrupt the conversation, and the model will adjust.  <\/p>\n

The idea of using robots to keep dementia patients engaged and connected isn\u2019t always an easy sell. Some people see it as an abdication of our social responsibilities. And then there are privacy concerns. The best robotic companions are personalized. They collect information about people\u2019s lives, learn their likes and dislikes, and figure out when to approach them. That kind of data collection can be unnerving, not just for patients but also for medical staff. Lillian Hung, creator of the Innovation in Dementia care and Aging (IDEA) lab at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, told one reporter<\/a> about an incident that happened during a focus group at a care facility.  She and her colleagues popped out for lunch. When they returned, they found that staff had unplugged the robot and placed a bag over its head. \u201cThey were worried it was secretly recording them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n