"That's the vision of toymaker Hasbro and scientists at Brown University, who have received a three-year, $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to find ways to add artificial intelligence to Hasbro's "Joy for All" robotic cat .
The cat, which has been on the market for two years, is aimed at seniors and meant to act as a "companion." It purrs and meows, and even appears to lick its paw and roll over to ask for a belly rub. The Brown-Hasbro project is aimed at developing additional capabilities for the cats to help older adults with simple tasks.
Researchers at Brown's Humanity-Centered Robotics Initiative are working to determine which tasks make the most sense, and which can help older adults stay in their own homes longer, such as finding lost objects, or reminding the owner to call someone or go to a doctor's appointment.
..."Cats don't generally talk to you," Littman said, and it might be upsetting if it did.
They're looking at whether the cat could move its head in a certain way to get across the message it's trying to communicate, for example.
In the end, they hope that by creating an interaction in which the human is needed, they could even help stem feelings of loneliness, depression and anxiety.
"The cat doesn't do things on its own. It needs the human, and the human gets something back," Malle said. "That interaction is a huge step up. Loneliness and uselessness feelings are hugely problematic.""
10 comments:
There's something to be said for a cat that doesn't require lugging a 25 lb bag of cat food home to feed him and doesn't need to have its little litter box freshened every day. If one was senile enough not to know the difference between a real cat and a fake, or didn't care, it could work out okay. An artificial dog that could be programmed to scare off or attack burglars would be even better.
The artificial and the superficial only go so far, without leading to further and often unexpected complications, along with a increased sense of disconnect, down the line.
Part of what's showing up as outrage in current culture along with millennial disconnect and goofiness is a result of lived experiences in which what was inauthentic, looked good, or sounded good was substituted for mutual relationship and real connection.
The whole idea is depressing, but I guess it could possibly work for a senile person for comfort. But then you wouldn't need the AI.
This makes me very sad. Old people with stuffed animals to keep them from being lonely. Cats who might have a good home but have been displaced by robots.
Well, clearly there's a market for the stuffed animatronics. Maybe people so frail, physically or mentally, that they can't handle a real cat. Shut ins at the nursing home. I know at a certain point some older people stop having pets, don't replace them after the pets die, not because of care and upkeep inability but because they worry what will happen when they (the people) die - who will take care of the animals?
I am so comfortable by myself I don't think I have ever been lonely. I sure as hell have been overwhelmed by fucking extroverts! I guess that's my "loneliness."
I was fascinated by the nonfiction book, Stranger in the Woods about a young man who spontaneously and w/ serendipity, became a hermit in the woods of Maine for 27 years,
As long as we are on this cheerful subject I will say I just made out my will, and will pay to get it registered tomorrow. I selected the law firm I did because they are sympathetic to the plight of animals left behind by the decedent. I have set aside a stipend to support my animals which, if followed, should allow sufficient time for them to be rehomed.
My animals worry about who will take care of me when they die. That's just how cool they are.
Get yourself a Treasure Dog or a Sherlock. Same effect, but with a lot less Temperament.
That's why I won't get a puppy. It might outlive me. Which reminds me...one day I need to make a crazy dog lover pact with a few people. We will agree to take the other's dogs if one of us dies. I see flaws in that statement, but you guys get the drift.
It's my belief animals often arrive in our lives as gifts and invitations. What we think they need from us may differ from what they have or are here to give. A pedigreed dog nobody wanted, one purchased as a pup for $550 from a breeder by his first owner (who had every intention of keeping him and providing him with a good home), ended up going through two homes before he finally arrived at our house. In the ten years that followed, he invited our family into an experience of unconditional love that hasn't been matched since. The path that led him to us, however, involved two owners giving up their expectations and control over his future by giving him away and letting fate, or the stars or the Great Dog spirit in the sky take over, and I am deeply grateful they did.
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