Growing Old Together: The Promise and Challenge of Social Robots for Older Adults
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Sawyer Collins
Abstract
Eldercare is arguably one of the most popular, and well-researched, application domains for social robots. Motivated by the increasing proportion of adults over 65 in the populations of several developed economies-the US, Western Europe, East Asia, which are also leaders in social robotics research-and related societal challenges, researchers are developing robots that can assist older adults and their caregivers in eldercare institutions and individual homes through a variety of functions, from providing companionship to healthcare monitoring. Eldercare robotics has produced many promising research findings and some successful robotic products but also faces continuing challenges to the broader usability and acceptance of eldercare robots. Furthermore, eldercare robotics often takes an overly technocentric view of the issues posed by aging and eldercare, without considering the broader social and cultural context and meaning of care. In this chapter, existing trends in social robotics for eldercare are described and several future directions discussed. These include the need to broaden the research community’s perception of aging from a disabilitycentered view to scaffolding meaningful activities and relationships in older adults’ lives, to engage more diverse older adults and other stakeholders in robot design and user studies, to consider caregiver and community effects and support for robotic technologies in robot design, as well as to address the many ethical concerns that eldercare robots raise.
Abstract
Eldercare is arguably one of the most popular, and well-researched, application domains for social robots. Motivated by the increasing proportion of adults over 65 in the populations of several developed economies-the US, Western Europe, East Asia, which are also leaders in social robotics research-and related societal challenges, researchers are developing robots that can assist older adults and their caregivers in eldercare institutions and individual homes through a variety of functions, from providing companionship to healthcare monitoring. Eldercare robotics has produced many promising research findings and some successful robotic products but also faces continuing challenges to the broader usability and acceptance of eldercare robots. Furthermore, eldercare robotics often takes an overly technocentric view of the issues posed by aging and eldercare, without considering the broader social and cultural context and meaning of care. In this chapter, existing trends in social robotics for eldercare are described and several future directions discussed. These include the need to broaden the research community’s perception of aging from a disabilitycentered view to scaffolding meaningful activities and relationships in older adults’ lives, to engage more diverse older adults and other stakeholders in robot design and user studies, to consider caregiver and community effects and support for robotic technologies in robot design, as well as to address the many ethical concerns that eldercare robots raise.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
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Section 1: Robots in Culture and Society
- Future Presence: Living with Social Robots 21
- Representing Robots in Popular Culture 47
- Designing Robots That are Accepted in Human Social Environments: Anthropomorphism, the Intentional Stance, Cultural Norms and Values, and Societal Implications 63
- Are Robotic Bodies (Part of) Social Bodies? 85
- Persons or Things: The Role of Robots in Society 105
- Automated Masspersonal Social Engineering 119
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Section 2: Humanistic and Social Scientific Perspectives
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Linguistics
- AI and Human Writing: Collaboration or Appropriation? 137
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Law
- Policies, Regulation, and Legal Perspectives on Social Robots 161
- How Social Robots Affect Privacy: Navigating the Landscape 179
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Sociology
- Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and the Evolution of the Social Sciences 203
- Human Interactions With (Embodied) AI: The Future of Authenticity in Human–AI Relation(ship)s 221
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Psychology and Neuroscience
- Mind Perception During and After Interacting with Artificial Agents 241
- How People Perceive Social Robots: The Case of Gender 261
- Relating with Social Robots: Issues of Sex, Love, Intimacy, Emotion, Attachment, and Companionship 277
- Real or Pretend? How Children Ontologize Social Robots as Mental and Moral Others 295
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Communication and Computer Sciences
- Rethinking Communication between Humans and Social Robots 313
- Interacting with Social Robots: The Influence of their Distinctive Cues, Behavioral Capabilities, and Affordances on Social Interaction and Well-being 335
- Integrating Big-Data Tools to Study AI and Human–Machine Communication: Methodology Strengths, Future Directions, and Applications 355
- Social Robots and Children: A Field in Development 371
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Section 3: Contexts of Human–Robot Interaction
- Anthropomorphizing Voice Assistants: A Research Agenda for Human–AI Relationships 391
- Domestic Appliances and Household Robots: The Changing Landscape of Housework and Family 411
- Ability and Disability: Social Robots and Accessibility, Disability Justice, and the Socially Constructed Normal Body 429
- Growing Old Together: The Promise and Challenge of Social Robots for Older Adults 447
- Power and Synchrony in Human Collaboration with Exoskeletons 467
- Index 489
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Contents V
- Introduction 1
-
Section 1: Robots in Culture and Society
- Future Presence: Living with Social Robots 21
- Representing Robots in Popular Culture 47
- Designing Robots That are Accepted in Human Social Environments: Anthropomorphism, the Intentional Stance, Cultural Norms and Values, and Societal Implications 63
- Are Robotic Bodies (Part of) Social Bodies? 85
- Persons or Things: The Role of Robots in Society 105
- Automated Masspersonal Social Engineering 119
-
Section 2: Humanistic and Social Scientific Perspectives
-
Linguistics
- AI and Human Writing: Collaboration or Appropriation? 137
-
Law
- Policies, Regulation, and Legal Perspectives on Social Robots 161
- How Social Robots Affect Privacy: Navigating the Landscape 179
-
Sociology
- Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and the Evolution of the Social Sciences 203
- Human Interactions With (Embodied) AI: The Future of Authenticity in Human–AI Relation(ship)s 221
-
Psychology and Neuroscience
- Mind Perception During and After Interacting with Artificial Agents 241
- How People Perceive Social Robots: The Case of Gender 261
- Relating with Social Robots: Issues of Sex, Love, Intimacy, Emotion, Attachment, and Companionship 277
- Real or Pretend? How Children Ontologize Social Robots as Mental and Moral Others 295
-
Communication and Computer Sciences
- Rethinking Communication between Humans and Social Robots 313
- Interacting with Social Robots: The Influence of their Distinctive Cues, Behavioral Capabilities, and Affordances on Social Interaction and Well-being 335
- Integrating Big-Data Tools to Study AI and Human–Machine Communication: Methodology Strengths, Future Directions, and Applications 355
- Social Robots and Children: A Field in Development 371
-
Section 3: Contexts of Human–Robot Interaction
- Anthropomorphizing Voice Assistants: A Research Agenda for Human–AI Relationships 391
- Domestic Appliances and Household Robots: The Changing Landscape of Housework and Family 411
- Ability and Disability: Social Robots and Accessibility, Disability Justice, and the Socially Constructed Normal Body 429
- Growing Old Together: The Promise and Challenge of Social Robots for Older Adults 447
- Power and Synchrony in Human Collaboration with Exoskeletons 467
- Index 489
