Having a conversation with a seal

This Tuesday both the TN regions like the TN noon reported on the arrival of a robotic stuffed seal at a nursing home. The rather rudimentary, mechanical animal with round eyes and soft white fur moves its flippers and long eyelashes and makes small noises when touched and spoken to. It's part of a university research project to test whether these types of devices improve the quality of life of older adults, whether with or without dementia. According to both those responsible for the study and those at the center, the Nuka seal stimulated social communication and provided peace of mind to some of the elderly residents of the home. A woman carrying the robot on her shoulders like a baby stated on camera that the seal had given her great peace. The report showed the elderly interacting with the robot as if it were a living being. The journalist covering the story also humanized the object: "Now Nuka is resting and has finished his visit to Conca de Barberà."

Without a doubt, it's very positive that they're investigating the possibilities of robotics and AI to improve people's quality of life. Considering the multitude of useless or negligent functions that occur in this field and the fortunes invested in absurd things, it's very good that science is thinking about the most vulnerable people.

However, the news raised two reflections. On the one hand, whether the simple presence of the cameras and the mission to disseminate the study conditioned the response. It would be very strange if, after driving the creator of Nuka and the person in charge of the study to Montblanc, the workers at the center and the elderly people appeared saying that it was a mess, that they had been bored to death in a corner, and that they were past the age of playing with stuffed animals. The intervention of television often means that witnesses row in favor of the journalistic objective. Everyone acts as they are expected to act.

On the other hand, it's worth asking whether we've ended up normalizing the infantilization of older people to grotesque limits. Social gerontology considers it a form of violence. This widespread tendency is the result of cultural stereotypes that have perceived old age as a process of intellectual decline, as well as a loss of personality, identity, and rights, as if older people had to be domesticated. They end up being spoken to as if they were little children, they are heckled for silly things, and they are given toys as substitutes for living beings to interact with. Just as the media has had to be trained in gender perspective, it is urgent that they also be trained to avoid ageism. A critical perspective is necessary. We cannot follow in the wake of technological initiatives that prioritize robots over promoting active, non-paternalistic aging. If you were asked now if you would like to spend the last years of your life talking to a seal and appearing like that on TV, would you say yes or no?