[BBC] Voice technologies using AI are being used to help combat loneliness in countries including Sweden and the UK. Should they be used more widely as coronavirus spreads?"I thought at first it was a sign of insanity, speaking to a little thing like that and him talking back!" says 92-year-old John Winward of the first time he tested a smart speaker.
The former head teacher was one of a group of residents at an elderly care home in Bournemouth, England who recently took part in a half-year academic experiment designed to test if artificial intelligence voice technologies could help tackle loneliness. He was a fast convert.
"I was so surprised... it was such fun!" he says, explaining that several months later he remains an active user of his Google Home device. He asks the speaker for news and weather updates, music and audio book tips and crossword puzzle clues. He sometimes asks it to tell him a joke. "It keeps me sane, really, because it’s a very lonely life when you lose your partner after 64 years, and you spend a lot of time in your room alone."
Loneliness is a global problem, which scientists believe can be as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day or being severely overweight. Young people as well as the elderly are at risk, and there are concerns that coronavirus-related lockdowns in cities around the world and self-isolation guidelines for those older than 70 will exacerbate the problem.