Artificial human companion

Senior citizens make up an increasing percentage of the population in the Western nations, and, according to Judith Masthoff of the University of Brighton, they tend to live alone and have a limited social network.

[4] Studies also show that those elderly living in such circumstances have an increased risk of developing depression and dementia and have a shorter life span than more socially connected seniors.

[8] This trend is notably significant for those grappling with social anxiety and depression, as AI provides a unique and accessible resource for managing these challenges.

The Internet now has a wide range of chatbots but they are no more advanced, in terms of plausibility as conversationalists, than the systems of forty years ago and most users tire of them after a couple of exchanges.

In social work with older adults, AI systems have been increasingly used for fraud prevention in banking, helping protect elderly people who may be vulnerable to financial exploitation.

It is written that "social robots often tend to be designed to portray a character, thus stimulating their anthropomorphisation by human interactants and inviting an interaction-style that is natural to people.