Caring Machines

Would you leave your child in the care of a robot nanny? Would you feel comfortable leaving your aging parent with a robot care giver? Should you find yourself in a hospital bed, would you feel cared for by a robot nurse? These scenarios may sound like fanciful fiction but “socially assistive robots” are an active area of ongoing development. In fact, these kinds of robots are already being designed and built.

For example, the iPal is a 3.5-ft-tall, fully functional, humanoid robot designed for human companionship and care. It has natural language capabilities to interact with humans in a playful and friendly way, capable of a variety of facial expressions. Paro is a therapy robot shaped like a seal to provide companionship for elderly patients with long-term illness and Alzheimer’s. Various similar projects are under development to serve the elderly, individuals with dementia, as well as children.

The field of socially assistive robots is seeking technical solutions to the problem of the “care gap,” the gap between the needs that people have, a rising elderly population and the ability to meet those needs. Some may go even further, suggesting that robots will do a better job than humans. Sherry Turkle, a social scientist from MIT, explores these developments in her book Alone Together. Turkle writes that “enthusiasts argue that robots will be more patient with the cranky and forgetful elderly than a human being could ever be. Not only better than nothing, the robots will simply be better.”

A turning point
Many new technologies, Turkles says, begin with an argument that they provide a solution that is better than nothing. However, she observes that soon these technologies become preferable to something. Texting with smartphones are one example: at first texting enables us to communicate with people when talking is not possible. However, the technology gradually becomes preferable to real life conversations. Turkle observes that “the very fact that we now design and manufacture robot companions for the elderly marks a turning point. We ask technology to perform what used to be ‘love’s labor’: taking care of each other.”

Child care is another area that poses many challenges. Many families have both parents working outside the home and child care spaces are both hard to find and expensive. A child-minding robot may appear to be an appealing solution to this common problem. But Turkle is disturbed by these developments and observes how children quickly bond with sociable robots and the effects they have on them. She concludes, “Children need to be with other people to develop mutuality and empathy; interacting with a robot cannot teach these.” If we become what we love, bonding with a robot will misshape us as humans.

Humans have a natural tendency to personify robots, especially if they are designed to resemble and interact like a human. If one believes that humans are simply machines, then the idea of machines caring for people is not such a big leap. But the fact is that “caring machines” are not capable of caring at all. Some have even suggested that it is deceptive to build robots designed to give an illusion that people can form relationships with them.

So what are normative and responsible ways to use robotics when caring for people? Robots can assist human care workers by helping with lifting patients in and out of beds and bathtubs. Robotic technology could also be redirected towards devices for assisting the physically disabled and to serve those who have challenges with moving, hearing, speaking and seeing. In this way robots can augment rather than replace genuine human care and companionship. The call to show love for one another, especially the most vulnerable, should not be offloaded to machines.