Be addicted to connection

Can Artificial Intelligence help us to combat loneliness?

Yuneui (Yunnie) Choi
4 min readMay 1, 2018

In Hyper-connected society, we are connected to the world at all times. But, Why do we feel loneliness?

If we turn down computers and smartphones, we couldn’t meet people without them

We are living in ‘Hyper-connected society.’ We always check our newsfeed on Social network services and the latest news and e-mail. If we feel loneliness, we usually check notifications on our phone. Due to the remarkable development of technology, we can contact each other whenever we want and wherever we are so that our online relationship is getting deeper than before. How about our relationship in offline? In the school with friends and home with families, most of us focus on the Smartphone in front of each other. We are isolated while we are connected to the world. The reason why we feel isolated is that the more we meet on the online, the less number of chance to physically contact with others.

The more people are connected to the world; the more people feel isolated in their life.

Can Artificial Intelligence help us to combat loneliness?

Currently, we have several AI friends which is Siri, Alexa, Bixby, and Google Now. But there respond to our order not start the conversations. Some people prefer talking with them to talking with a real human. And when some people feel lonely, they begin a conversation with them, even though, AI friends couldn’t understand what they are saying.

Times change, the previous voice-based AI services are getting smarter than before so that they can respond properly and variously. Beyond the voice-based service, Gatebox Lab released Virtual Home Robot. This product can not only begin a conversation but also shows users’ favorite character so that users can feel more familiar with this and avoid awkward from talking with a robot.

Gatebox — Virtual Home Robot

Artificial intelligence impact on our everyday life in the future

Here is a part of article from ‘Bigdata madesimple.com’. They said AI will impact on our everyday life. Technology moves at breakneck speed, and we now have more power in our pockets than we had in our homes in the 1990s. Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a fascinating concept of science fiction for decades, but many researchers think we’re finally getting close to making AI a reality. NPR notes that in the last few years, scientists have made breakthroughs in “machine learning,” using neural networks, which mimic the processes of real neurons.

This is a type of “deep learning” that allows machines to process information for themselves on a very sophisticated level, allowing them to perform complex functions like facial recognition. Big data is speeding up the AI development process, and we may be seeing more integration of AI technology in our everyday lives relatively soon. While much of this technology is still fairly rudimentary at the moment, we can expect sophisticated AI to one day significantly impact our everyday lives.

How about be a friend with Robot?

Who wouldn’t want a friend like C-3PO? At this stage, most robots are still emotionless and it’s hard to picture a robot you could relate to. However, a company in Japan has made the first big steps toward a robot companion — one who can understand and feel emotions. Introduced in 2014, “Pepper” the companion robot went on sale in 2015, with all 1,000 initial units selling out within a minute. The robot was programmed to read human emotions, develop its own emotions, and help its human friends stay happy. Pepper goes on sale in the U.S. in 2016, and more sophisticated friendly robots are sure to follow.

Home robot in senior care to combat loneliness

For many seniors, everyday life is a struggle, and many have to hire outside help to manage their care, or rely on family members. AI is at a stage where replacing this need isn’t too far off, says Matthew Taylor, computer scientist at Washington State University. “Home” robots could help seniors with everyday tasks and allow them to stay independent and in their homes for as long as possible, which improves their overall well-being.

Although we don’t know the exact future, it is quite evident that interacting with AI will soon become an everyday activity. These interactions will clearly help our society evolve, particularly in regards to automated transportation, cyborgs, handling dangerous duties, solving climate change, friendships and improving the care of our elders. Beyond these six impacts, there are even more ways that AI technology can influence our future, and this very fact has professionals across multiple industries extremely excited for the ever-burgeoning future of artificial intelligence.

Currently, there’s ELLIQ which is for the proactive Artificial Intelligence driven social robot designed to encourage an active and engaged lifestyle by suggesting activities and making it simple to connect with loved ones.

ELLIQ — AI driven social robot

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Yuneui (Yunnie) Choi

I’m a service experience designer who loves innovative technology, human-centred goodness and collaborative work. Currently based in Seoul, South Korea.