Robots for Mom...Or Me

Last week in an The New York Times op-ed, author Maggie Jackson asked the question: Would You Let a Robot Take Care of Your Mother?  Ms. Jackson notes how robots are increasingly being used for assisting in the lives of seniors, which she understands but is concerned about.  "At stake," she says, "is the future of what it means to be human, and what it means to care."

I get her concern.  As I've written about before, we trust robots too easily and tend to feel empathy for them.  We can even fall in love or hurt them.  In other words, we end up treating them like people.  As Matthias Scheutz, a Tufts University roboticist, told Ms. Jackson, "What I find morally dubious is to push the social aspect of these machines when it’s just a facade, a puppet. It’s deception technology."

But, yeah, I'd have let a robot take care of my mom, and I hope robots will be there to take care of me.

Robear  Credit: Riken

My mother, alas, is no longer alive.  She lived to her mid-90's, and her last few years were not atypical.  She went from walking to cane to walker to wheelchair.  She went from driving to needing a driver to take her on errands to having someone do all her errands.  She went from visiting friends to being dependent on friends visiting to sitting at mealtimes with strangers.  She went from home to condo to retirement community to assisting living.  

She went from being independent to having a caregiver come in a few times a week to needing round-the-clock attention.  And by "round-the-clock" I mean checking in on a schedule or in response to her call button, usually at some significant delay.

None of her children lived close, so phone calls and periodic visits were the time we had with her.  The television and the radio became her most common companions. 

Some of her caregivers were caring far beyond the call of duty.  Most did their job professionally.  A few of them she didn't like or was even afraid of.  Most importantly, all of them were there primarily to help her accomplish tasks, and none of them was always there when she needed or wanted them. 

It's too late for my mother, but as I get closer to my senior years, I hope there will be plenty of robots.  Here are some ways they could help:

Exosuits:  As walking and other routine tasks become more difficult, I hope my failing body is augmented by an exosuit.  This is something that the military is all over, but applications for seniors have been touted for years as well.  We talk about "wearables" and mostly mean smartwatches or maybe IoT clothing, but some see robotics built into clothing as well.

See, for example:

We're not there yet, but the progress in just a few years is encouraging.  Good-bye to those walkers and wheelchairs, goodbye to constant fear of falling.  Hello staying safely in one's own home.

Companions: too many seniors outlive their spouses, their friends, their neighbors, and don't live close to their children (who have competing demands in their own lives).  More seniors than we'd care to admit spend too much of their time alone. 

We already have a suite of "companion" robots.  They remind seniors to take pills, help answer simple questions, and coordinate with healthcare providers.  There is Mabu, by Catalia Health, whom Ms. Jackson mentions, or Zora, as well as many others.  Toyota has a whole suite of "partner robots,"

Cory Kidd, the founder and CEO of Catalia Health, explained to MIT News why robots like Mabu could be helpful in care management programs: "What I found was when we used an interactive robot that you could look in the eye and share the same physical space with, you got the same psychological effects as face-to-face interaction." 

As promising as these are, though, Ms. Jackson urges that humans should always know they're dealing with a robot or algorithm, and that it not interfere with human relationships. 

Caregivers: the above two categories are important, but the thing that is hardest to find humans for are the nitty-gritty tasks involved in caregiving.  Tasks like feeding, bathing, transfering, assistance with toileting, and cleaning.  Those involve human contact, often with frail individuals and for very personal needs. 

We have robot maids, beds that can make themselves, robotic shower systems, robots that can clean bathrooms, and robots that can help people transfer in and out of bed or wheelchair.  We may not yet have robots that can directly assist with toileting, but it is only a matter of time. 

We're going to need them.

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It has been pointed out before, but in this month's Harvard Magazine Jonathon Shaw discusses the "coming eldercare tsunami."  It will hit Japan first, then China, and soon enough the U.S. and Western Europe.  There simply will not be enough younger people to take care of the elderly populations -- financially or directly.

The Pew Foundation reported in 2017 that 59% of Americans were not interested in a robot caregiver for themselves or for a family member, but 59% also see it as a realistic prospect.  One respondent said: "A robot would never fatigue, would never get emotional or angry. They have no ego, they would just care for the individual."  Another warned: "The main problem with the elderly is that they get confused. If the robot malfunctions, an elderly person would not be able to manage that situation adequately.”

Ms. Jackson, and many respondents in the Pew study, argue that human interaction and empathy is preferable, but the simple fact is that it is not always convenient, affordable, or possible.  When Boomers start needing more support, we're not going to be happy to rely on underpaid caregivers to help us when they can. 

Fortunately, Boomers and, even more, the generations who follow, are used to technology.  We love our smartphones and are getting used to smart watches, smart TVs, smart homes, and smart cars.  We'll be ready for smart caregiving robots, in all the forms they may take.

The caregiving robots will be too late for my mom, but hopefully not for your mom, or for you and me.