Would You Hire a Robot Caregiver?

Let’s take a glimpse of our future job takers and caregivers. The transformation of societies in the coming decades will be evident as humans become accustomed in living alongside robots. Will a robot caregiver suffice with taking care of our loved ones?

Countries around the world are now grappling with how to care for a growing population of elderly people. According to the Pew Research Center, the percentage of the US population aged 65 or older is currently at 13%, but that number is expected to nearly double by 2050.

But the United States isn’t even close to the oldest nation in the world – that title is reserved for Japan. This country is home to the longest-living citizens on earth, and the biggest elderly population of any country—and it’s not getting any younger. All of those long-living elderly will need caretakers. But with the “catastrophic” demographic situation of the country, this is surely an alarming predicament. Japan is known for its low birth rate. And the situation is being aggravated by its strict immigration policy for hiring foreign workers.

Yet today, 25 percent of Japan’s population is age 65 or older. By 2020, this is projected to increase to 29 percent and reach 39 percent by 2050.

What does this mean? There will not be enough grandchildren who could take care of their grandparents and great-grandparents. And the shortage of caregivers is a worldwide problem.

The proposed solution? Here come the robots.

To address the issue, Japanese companies are leading in the development of our future caregivers. The global personal robot market could reach $17.4 billion by 2020, according to the Merrill Lynch report. In fact, one-third of the Japanese government’s budget is allocated to developing carebots. For example, Toyota built a nursing aide named Robina – modeled after Rosie, the cartoon robot nanny and housekeeper in The Jetsons. Another rival, Honda, has created Asimo robot – an autonomous, humanoid robot that could help the elderly by getting them food or turning off lights.

But can a robot caregiver really take care of humans? It’s worth noting the disadvantages before letting these robots look after our loved ones, right?

1. Failure to connect. In a recent (and disturbing) five-minute ad called B.E.N. (Biologically Engineered Nursing), it clearly suggests that replacing human caretakers with robots is a dreadful idea. As the ad shows, BEN may be attending to his client’s basic needs—such as preparing food and ensuring she gets up in the morning – but something vital is missing in these encounters. BEN, as an algorithm-driven automaton, is clearly failing to connect with the client. After all, robots are still robots at the end of the day.

2. Promotes social isolation. We cannot erase the fact that even if robots can address the basic needs of humans, or have the ability to communicate, they are still machines, not humans. As human beings, the importance of human interactions cannot be stressed enough. We have all grown, learned, developed, and matured through human interactions and connections. Robots cannot completely replace the social engagement and interaction that only humans can provide.

Also, it has been well established that social isolation is a serious health risk, particularly for the elderly. Studies have shown that spending too much time alone is just as dangerous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and that socially isolated individuals experience a 26 percent increased risk of dying, regardless of the cause of death. Sending human caregivers into the homes of the lonely is certainly one great way to address this problem, but these interactions still need to be sincere in order to be effective. There is still a need to choose the right home care provider carefully.

3. Expensive. The next disadvantage of robotics in the home is its high cost for both the production and the purchasing. A robot caregiver costs a lot of money to build, and companies are investing vast amounts of money in the involved research and programming. For instance, a team of researchers in Nagoya, Japan has created Robear, a high-tech teddy robot that uses advanced technology to power its intelligent vision, flexible movement, and giant arms strong enough to lift a human right off the ground. And the cost? Well, brace yourself. Mukai estimates the cost of the current Robear prototype between US$168,000 and US$252,000. That’s equivalent to hiring a full-time human caregiver for three consecutive years.

And the estimated price does not include repairs and maintenance.

4. Unreliable in emergency situations. A robot caregiver cannot respond in times of danger as humans can. We should also consider that there is always a possibility that the elderly can find themselves in dangerous situations that cannot be handled by robots. Family members cannot invest their entire trust in robots to care and give companionship to their loved ones. If an emergency does occur – let’s say the elderly falls and his only companion in the house is the robot caretaker – the robot is not going to be able to dial 911 and give the emergency services the vital and exact information they need.

5. Prone to malfunction. A robot caregiver have a specific job to do that is ordered by their operator, and if the robot malfunctions, this could cause chaos. There is always a possibility for machines to malfunction. For instance, there were reported mishaps and deaths related to the use of robotic systems in surgeries. Are you going to entrust completely the lives of your loved ones to these machines?

Despite the advantages that robots can bring to our society, there are clear disadvantages of the utilization of robotics in the home that we have to consider. Some may think that there are no negative consequences of replacing our caregivers and nurses with robots. But in retrospect, giving robots too much access to our daily lives could lead to disaster worldwide. The care and warmth that humans bring to one another cannot be replaced by machines.