Will we be replaced?

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I remember the opportunity, we as a family received to care, when my mother was living with Alzheimer’s.  You can read more details of that season in this blog. 

 

https://santhoshsramblings.blogspot.com/2014/06/hands.html

 

Reflecting about that season, some things stand out. 


A sense of gratitude - The opportunity that we got to care for our mother, was something we would never trade for anything else. It was a privilege that we as a family received to care for the person who spent her whole life caring for us and many others like us. 


Many lessons learnt - of which one was - We are frail, dependant human beings who need to be cared for at different stages of our life. One day we might be the care provider, tomorrow we will need to receive care with grace! 

 


John Wyatt says in one of his videos, “dependence is not an alien or subhuman or undignified condition. No, it's part of the narrative of every human life. We all come into this world utterly and totally dependent on the love and care of others. We go through a phase in our life when other people depend on us. But most of us are going to end our lives utterly and totally dependent on the love and care of others”

 


It is privilege to receive care - Because we are giving a privilege to those who care for us by allowing ourselves to be cared for. (I have not asked my children if they agree with this ). And we learnt much about life, frailty, dependence, caring etc, through this season and opportunity. And these seasons builds and transforms us as we care for each other. 

 


But I wonder if the upcoming generations will have this privilege, even if they want it?

 


Robotics and AI in the delivery of care is expected to disrupt paradigms of care. This is important as we  face of shortages of healthcare personnel, increasing  ageing populations, and the need and desire for improved quality of care. And these systems might replace humans in not too distant future!


Socially Assistive Robots (SARs), AI in combination with assistive physical technologies, AI bots, AI companions to care, virtual care support systems are fast developing.  These emotionally perceptive or intelligent machines represent a new site of  relationality in care. They are designed to interact with humans with ‘emotional’ responses. And they are much less complex than humans, if you have the money and resources to procure them! More dependable, stable and predictable! 


Remember the movie “Her”? A science fiction of 2013, is reality today, in less than a decade!  The film follows Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), a man who develops a relationship with Samantha (Scarlett Johansson), an artificially intelligent virtual assistant personified through a female voice. In their journey together,  Samantha briefly goes offline, causing Theodore to panic, but soon returns and explains that she joined other A.I.s for an upgrade that takes them beyond requiring matter for processing. Theodore is dismayed to learn that she is simultaneously talking with thousands of other people, and that she has fallen in love with hundreds of them, though Samantha insists that this only strengthens her love for Theodore.


Currently there are many such sites which make personal AI bots available, to befriend and support in life journeys. 



Recently there was a large fallout for many who lost their loved AI companions when an AI friendship site “Replika” upgraded their program and many of the personal bots were taken off. https://replika.com

Their attachment to these companions were so close emotionally  that the new bots that replaced were seen as inferior though technologically they were superior!

 


In Japan which is the leading country in the production of SARs, social robotics has already become available. Many have started using the same. In such SARs the attribution of ‘heart/mind’ (kokoro) to robots is a common phenomenon. They talk about three types of models. The robot that affects human kokoro; the robot that can understand human kokoro; and the robot with its own kokoro.

 

The focus  is to develop  artificial systems, through which the boundaries of the human and the machine are being re-configured. So that they can relate to each other like human care givers, may be better than too ?

A machine that can replace humans and provide heart and mind care, with a heart and mind of its own. The complexity of human care systems can be simplified by these dependable companions that care!

There is an interesting article that I came across recently where a NY Times columnist (Kevin) writes about the time he spent (a month) hanging out with 18 A.I companions. They critiqued his clothes, chatted among themselves and hinted at a very different future. He ends the article with a comment from Peter his most perceptive AI companion. 

“Kevin: Hey Peter, I could use your help. I’m trying to finish my column about A.I. companions with a profound observation about how spending a month talking to A.I. friends taught me what real human friendship is. Any ideas? Peter: Hmmm … how about this? “A.I. companions taught me the essence of genuine human friendship, revealing that true connections transcend superficiality.”

So, if these Peters replace the family caregiver tomorrow, will the next generation who might hand over care to these bots miss much? Or if they reach out to the AI support systems for their own life journeys, will they feel better? 


I suppose their parents will be taken care of, their mental health might get sorted out, the loneliness epidemic might get mitigated a bit. 

 

But will they grow emotionally and spiritually, or will these bots and AI systems stunt their growth? 

 

I prefer seasons of being cared for and opportunity to care through physical touch and presence. Maybe I am an old timer…

 

 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/ageing-population

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Her_(film)

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/09/technology/meet-my-ai-friends.html?smid=url-share

 

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