Link: http://www.technewsw...tory/31465.html
Date: 08-30-03
Author: Diane Stresing
Source: TechNewsWorld
Title: Artificial Caregivers Improve on the Real Thing
Comment: As I've been mulling over and proposing possible scenarios to the apporaching ageing baby boomer problem and how society will not possibly be able to fund the care the elderly in the future will need, I am surprised that at least the partial solution presented in the article below was not proposed by some singular individual.
Artificial Caregivers Improve on the Real Thing
By Diane Stresing
TechNewsWorld
August 30, 2003
Initially, the thought of robotic nurses taking care of us as we age might seem bleak. But faced with a serious shortage of healthcare workers, we might have to accept the idea.
Julia Lundy is blind. She uses a wheelchair whenever she ventures more than a few feet. When Lundy began attending classes at the University of Georgia last fall, her mother went along to help her navigate campus life. Naturally, Lundy wanted more independence. She approached Dr. Don Potter, director of the Artificial Intelligence Center at the University, to see if he could help.
Potter and graduate students in the AI Center worked with Lundy to assess her needs. Potter said that at first, they planned to have Lundy's wheelchair do a lot of work for her, "so Julia could say, 'I'm in Don's office; take me to the elevator.'"
But Lundy didn't want that. She wanted faster and better feedback so she could maintain control. Balancing Lundy's need for independence with her need for machine assistance is a continuing challenge for Potter and his students.
Medical researchers have experimented with various forms of AI systems for more than 30 years. While Lundy's situation proves that relationships between people and machines can take time -- lots of it -- to develop, another situation is driving rapid acceptance of AI and machine caretakers.
The baby boomers are aging.
Link to Complete Article
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