CARPI – The older woman asked to hear a story.
“An excellent choice,” answered the small robot, reclined like a nonchalant professor atop the classroom desk, instructing her to listen closely.
She leaned in, her wizened forehead almost touching the smooth plastic head.
“Once upon a time,” the robot began, and when the brief tale ended, it asked her what job the protagonist had.
“Shepherd,” Ms Bona Poli, 85, responded meekly.
The robot did not hear so well. She rose out of her chair and raised her voice.
“Shep-herd!” she shouted. “Fantastic,” the robot said, ges
ticulating awkwardly. “You have a memory like a steel cage.”
The scene may have the dystopian “what could go wrong?” undertones of science fiction at a moment when both the promise and perils of artificial intelligence (AI) are coming into sharper focus.
But for the exhausted caregivers at a recent meeting in Carpi, a handsome town in Italy’s most innovative region for elder care, it pointed to a welcome, not-too-distant future when humanoids might help shrinking families share the burden of keeping the Western world’s oldest population stimulated, active and healthy.
“Squat and stretch,” said the French-made robot, Nao, climbing to its feet and leading posture exercises. “Let’s move our arms and raise them high.”
The people in the room, mostly women, looked on – some amused, some wary, but all desperate to know how new technology could help them care for their ageing relatives.
This story is from the March 27, 2023 edition of The Straits Times.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the March 27, 2023 edition of The Straits Times.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
S. America footballers not going home as crime rages
A wave of crimes against South American footballers has underscored the risks faced by players who loathe to return home from overseas clubs to a region where they, or their loved ones, risk being kidnapped, blackmailed or targeted by gangs with a message to send.
SMART STAR RATES HIGHLY AFTER FLUENT WORKOUT
Roda Robot and Sacred Command set to liven up Class 41,400m contest on May I2
MAS closely monitoring’ DBS as it identifies root cause of outages
May 2 disruptions took place with bank still working on plan to address 2023’s incidents
Tokyo Disney banks on Frozen, Peter Pan in 2.8b expansion
Tokyo Disney Resort is opening a new 320 billion yen (S$2.8 billion) section celebrating some of its most popular fantasy franchises, the biggest expansion yet in Japan as Walt Disney invests heavily in theme parks globally.
VinFast gets EV reality check as shares plunge 65%
Vietnam company’s 2024 slide underlines challenges to realising ambitious plans
Jeweller faces 3 due-diligence charges; 313,000 in sale proceeds linked to scams
A jewellery shop was charged on May 7 with not performing the required checks when it sold gold jewellery and a gold bar for over $313,000 to an unidentified person, when there was reason to suspect money laundering.
‘We don't want to fail parents another time’: Cordlife CEO
Firm has tightened measures to ensure safe cord blood storage; new lab hires added
Cyber-security law amended to boost oversight of critical systems
Act updated to keep up with new tech models, use of outsourced services
Scoot flight on Embraer jet marks S’pore debut for Brazil-made plane
Maiden flight on 112-seater to Krabi almost full, just like for later Hat Yai flight
Putin starts new term as Russia's President with challenge to West
Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was up to the West to choose between confrontation and cooperation as he was sworn in for a new six-year term on May 7 at a Kremlin ceremony that was boycotted by the US and many of its allies.