Loneliness is an increasingly pressing problem across society. While it may seem unlikely that robots will ever adequately replace the companionship provided by humans, a recent study from Duke University suggests otherwise.
“Right now, all the evidence points to having a real friend as the best solution,” the researchers explain. “But until society prioritizes social connectedness and eldercare, robots are a solution for the millions of isolated people who have no other solutions.”
Growing loneliness
The researchers explain that the number of people with no close friends has quadrupled in the last few decades, with loneliness and isolation now believed to affect around a third of the population. This comes with a wide range of health consequences, including obesity, mental illness, and dementia. Indeed, its impact has been recently likened to that of smoking.
The researchers accept that making new friends is not always easy, especially as an adult, so wanted to test whether companion robots could be a useful compromise.
“AI presents exciting opportunities to give companion robots greater skills to build social connection,” the researchers explain. “But we need to be careful to build in rules to ensure they are moral and trustworthy.”
Simple companionship
Many of the interactions social robots have with human users involve simple companionship, and the researchers believe that these interactions can help to reduce both loneliness and stress.
This is especially so for more advanced robots that come with advanced AI that enables them to have stronger social connections with users. For instance, generative AI allows the robots to have more spontaneous seeming conversations, and even mimic the behaviors of old friends or loved ones.
This effectiveness has prompted a growing number of robots to support the use of social robots to relieve isolation and generally provide companionship to users, with a growing number believing such applications should be covered by insurance.
While there seems to be much work still to do, the authors are confident that robots can play a crucial role in helping us to alleviate stress and loneliness.
“With the right ethical guidelines, we may be able to build on current work to use robots to create a healthier society,” they conclude.
