Talking Robot Helps Seniors Fight Loneliness

Talking Robot Helps Seniors Fight Loneliness

会说话的机器人帮助老年人抵抗孤独

【听力音频】

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　　By Gregory Stachel

　　07 January 2024

　　Joyce Loaiza lives alone in a community for older people in the American state of Florida. When she is home, the retired office worker often talks with a friendly female voice that asks about her day.

　　A few kilometers away, the same voice helped 83-year-old Deanna Dezern when her friend died. In New York state, it plays games and music for 92-year-old Marie Broadbent. And in Washington state, it helps 83-year-old Jan Worrell make new friends.

　　The women are some of the first in the United States to receive the robot ElliQ made by Intuition Robotics. The company and other officials say it is the only device using artificial intelligence (AI) to help older Americans from loneliness.

　　"It's entertaining. You can actually talk to her," said Loaiza who is 81. Her ElliQ calls her "Jellybean" for no clear reason. She said, "She'll make comments like, ‘I would go outside if I had hands, but I can't hold an umbrella.'"

　　The device looks like a small table light and it has an eyeless, mouthless head that lights up and turns. It remembers each user's interests and their talks, helping create a special experience with each new discussion. They can be as deep as the meaning of life or as light as a small joke.

　　ElliQ also plays music and provides creative or spiritual sayings. On a video screen that comes with it, it will show different cities and places of interest. The device leads exercises, asks about the owner's health, and gives reminders to take medicines and drink water. It can also support video calls and contact family, friends, or doctors in an emergency.

　　Intuition Robotics says none of the conversations are heard by the company, with the information staying on each owner's device.

　　Intuition Robotics chief executive office Dor Skuler said the idea for ElliQ came before he launched his Israeli company eight years ago. His grandfather who lost his partner needed an aide, but the first did not work out. The next person, though, understood his grandfather's love of music and his special sense of humor.

　　Skuler then thought a robot could fill the space of a friend by adapting to each person and their interests. He said, "That just did not exist anywhere."

　　The average user interacts with ElliQ more than 30 times a day and more than 90 percent report lower levels of loneliness, Skuler said.

　　The robots are mostly sent out by state agencies in New York, Florida, Michigan, Nevada and Washington. But they can also be bought individually for $600 a year plus $250 to set it up. Skuler would not say how many ElliQs have been sent out so far, but the goal is to have more than 100,000 out within five years.

　　Brigham Young University professor Julianne Holt-Lunstad studies the effects of loneliness on health. Holt-Lunstad worries that a device like ElliQ might have short-term helpful effects but it could make people less likely to seek human contact. She told The Associated Press that the difficult feeling of loneliness should push people to reconnect socially.

　　Skuler and state officials agreed that ElliQ is not a replacement for human contact. But some older people cannot leave home or do not have many friends.

　　Greg Olsen is director of the New York State Office for the Aging. His office has sent out 750 of the 900 ElliQs it received. He said he wished that he could "make a person show up at the home of one of the many, many older adults that don't have any family or friends."

　　Charlotte Mather-Taylor is director of the Broward County, Florida, Area Agency on Aging. She said the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath left many older people more disconnected. Her agency has provided 300 ElliQs which, she believes, help the situation.

　　She said, "We've seen very positive results with it. People generally like her and she makes them smile and brings joy."

　　I'm Gregory Stachel.

　　Carla K. Johnson reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English.

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　　作者：Gregory Stachel

　　2024年1月7日

　　Joyce Loaiza独自居住在美国佛罗里达州的一个老年人社区。当她在家时，这位退休的办公室工作人员经常与一个友好的女声交谈，这个声音会询问她的一天过得如何。

　　在几公里外，当Deanna Dezern的朋友去世时，同样的声音帮助了这位83岁的老人。在纽约州，它为92岁的Marie Broadbent播放游戏和音乐。在华盛顿州，它帮助83岁的Jan Worrell结交新朋友。

　　这些女士是在美国接收到由Intuition Robotics制造的机器人ElliQ的首批人群。该公司和其他官员表示，这是唯一一个使用人工智能（AI）来帮助美国老年人抵抗孤独的设备。

　　"这个设备很有趣。你真的可以和她交谈，"81岁的Loaiza说。她的ElliQ无缘无故地叫她"Jellybean"。她说，“她会发表一些评论，比如‘如果我有手，我会出去，但我不能拿伞。’”

　　这个设备看起来像一个小桌灯，它有一个没有眼睛、没有嘴巴的头，可以发光和转动。它记住每个用户的兴趣和他们的谈话，帮助在每次新的讨论中创造出特殊的体验。这些讨论可以深入到生活的意义，也可以轻松到一个小笑话。

　　ElliQ还可以播放音乐，提供创造性或精神上的名言。在附带的视频屏幕上，它会展示不同的城市和有趣的地方。这个设备引导做运动，询问主人的健康状况，并提醒服药和喝水。在紧急情况下，它还可以支持视频通话，联系家人、朋友或医生。

　　Intuition Robotics公司表示，所有的对话内容都不会被公司听到，信息只会存储在每个设备主人的设备上。

　　Intuition Robotics的首席执行官Dor Skuler表示，ElliQ的想法在他八年前创立这家以色列公司之前就已经产生了。他的祖父在失去伴侣后需要一个助手，但是第一个助手并不合适。然而，下一个人理解了他祖父对音乐的热爱和他特殊的幽默感。

　　Skuler于是想到，一个机器人可以通过适应每个人和他们的兴趣来填补朋友的空缺。他说：“这在任何地方都不存在。”

　　平均每个用户每天与ElliQ互动超过30次，超过90%的用户报告说他们的孤独感降低了，Skuler说。

　　这些机器人主要由纽约、佛罗里达、密歇根、内华达和华盛顿的州政府机构发放。但是它们也可以单独购买，每年600美元，加上250美元的设置费用。Skuler没有透露到目前为止已经发放了多少ElliQ，但目标是在五年内发放超过100,000个。

　　杨百翰大学的教授Julianne Holt-Lunstad研究孤独对健康的影响。Holt-Lunstad担心像ElliQ这样的设备可能会有短期的帮助效果，但它可能会使人们不太可能寻求人际接触。她告诉美联社，孤独的困扰感应该推动人们重新社交。

　　Skuler和州官员都同意，ElliQ并不能替代人际接触。但是有些老年人不能离开家，或者没有很多朋友。

　　Greg Olsen是纽约州老年办公室的主任。他的办公室已经发放了他们收到的900个ElliQ中的750个。他说，他希望他能“让一个人出现在那些没有任何家人或朋友的老年人的家中”。

　　Charlotte Mather-Taylor是佛罗里达州布劳沃德县老年机构的主任。她说，COVID-19大流行及其后果使许多老年人更加孤立。她的机构已经提供了300个ElliQ，她相信这有助于改善这种情况。

　　她说：“我们看到了它非常积极的效果。人们通常都喜欢她，她让他们微笑，带给他们快乐。”

　　我是Gregory Stachel。

　　这个故事是由Carla K. Johnson为美联社报道的，Gregory Stachel为VOA学习英语进行了改编。

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　　这个故事中的词汇

　　artificial intelligence – n. 计算机科学的一个领域，处理使机器看起来像具有人类智能的能力

　　actually – n.一个长时间的期间，期间几乎没有或没有雨

　　umbrella – n. 用于防雨和遮阳的设备

　　adapt – v.改变（某物）使其功能更好或更适合某种目的

　　interacts – v.与其他人或物进行交谈或做事

　　positive – adj. 好的或有用的

　　joy – n.极大的幸福感