Seniors to robots: don’t get too familiar
October 29, 2012
Seniors draw that line on robot familiarity (credit: Wendy Rogers/Georgia Tech)
Seniors (ages 65 to 93 years) preferred robotic more than human help for chores such as cleaning the kitchen, doing laundry and taking out the trash, but not for help getting dressed, eating and bathing, or for social activities, a Georgia Institute of Technology study found.
“It seems that older people are less likely to trust a robot with decision-making tasks than with monitoring or physical assistance,” said Rogers. “Researchers should be careful not to generalize preferences when designing assistive robots.”
This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.
References:
- Cory-Ann Smarr et al., Older Adults' Preferences for and Acceptance of Robot Assistance for Everyday Living Tasks, presented at the Human Factors Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, Boston, October 24, 2012
- Cory-Ann Smarr et al., "Commanding Your Robot" Older Adults' Preferences for Methods of Robot Control, presented at the Human Factors Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, Boston, October 25, 2012
Comments (5)
by Michael Zeldich
That problem will extinct with the subjective robots capable to behave reasonably, so people will believe that they do possess a consciousness.
by Clyde
Elementary and naturally, to each his own. Meaning, each person will determine the extent of Robot help, duties, etc. or non-help (i.e. it’s programing). Therefore, said is a non-issue.
I welocme the basic total Robot help, etc. I posit, as The Singularity evolves, Robots will have more interaction, significance, trust in them than
some (note, I said “some people”) have in human beings.
The Huxley “Brave New World” is condemned! The Kurzweil Singularity New World I highly esteem. Therein, is my hope for the future.
by Dennis R.
Most seniors don’t like nursing homes or assisted-living facilities for similar reasons– their loss of independence. I suspect most would prefer living at home having a robot change their soiled “adult” diapers rather than a minimum wage employee in an institutional setting.
by Bennie Beaver
Depending on just how advanced that robot is, I’d trust a robot over stories I’ve heard about human assistance, any day. Industry can make one robot, that has those limits, for that other person, and make on that does it all for me.
by Gorden Russell
“…not for help getting dressed, eating and bathing, or for social activities…”
Bathing? Well of course I don’t want a robot to scrub my junk…but it is getting harder and harder to get between my toes as I age. I’m not getting any taller, yet my feet seem to get farther and farther away with each passing year. My wife can’t reach her feet at all any more and it breaks my back washing them for her. I wouldn’t kick a robot out of the house for scrubbing my back and my feet.