How would you feel about a robot taking care of you?
In the UK we have a shortage of staff across nursing and social care, a pattern that’s replicated in many countries with ageing populations. According to this recent article from The Conversation, Japan is experimenting with “caring robots” to bridge these skill shortages.
But the idea of using technology, which is inherently incapable of “caring” (in the literal sense) to replace care workers, can be unsurprisingly controversial.
To me, this seems like one of those times you need to make the best use of both human skills and advancing technology, to get the best outcomes for people.
Adding robotics into the mix certainly means 24-7 care could be available much more cheaply, and could begin to address some of the staff shortages. Better availability of support would give older and disabled folks more freedom to manage their own lives, such as getting out of bed or taking a shower at the time you choose, rather than when your carer happens to be available to visit. And some things might feel less embarrassing to be handled by an impersonal machine?
On the other hand, the “care” part of caring professions can’t be outsourced to a robot. For some people, having a nurse or carer come to visit might be their only social contact on some days. Carers can provide comfort and mental health support, as well as physical assistance. And humans are generally better at handling the unexpected.
In a blended approach, a domestic robot could be available at all times. Humans could be “on call” for alerts if the robot detects that something is wrong or unusual. In addition to their other duties, the human carer might have a supervisory role, checking that the robot was working properly and everything was running smoothly between visits.
As a society, we would also need to put in safeguards to ensure that the addition of technology didn’t result in lower wages for skilled human nurses and carers, or result in a lack of privacy for the care user.
What do you think? Would you consider a robot carer?
