AI has the potential to do more than make life easier. It can help older adults stay connected, engaged and independent. In this episode of Varsity’s Roundtable Talk, Derek sits down with Assaf Gad, VP of Strategy and General Manager at Intuition Robotics, the company behind ElliQ, an AI-powered companion designed specifically for older adults.
In their conversation, Derek and Assaf explore how ElliQ builds relationships without replacing human connection, why trust and privacy are critical when designing AI for older adults and what real users have taught the company about emotional attachment to technology. Derek also puts the technology to the test, talking directly with ElliQ about loneliness, mindfulness, love and even her sense of humor.
Check out the full episode here.
WHAT IS ELLIQ AND WHAT ROLE IS SHE DESIGNED TO PLAY IN SOMEONE’S DAILY LIFE?
ElliQ is a friendly robot. She’s actually a companion. Her first goal is to become the best sidekick or buddy of an older adult, and then she’ll try to find how she can be helpful. The main mission that we serve is independence. Everyone wants to stay independent as they age, and she’s a great tool to help with that. She also has a bunch of technologies and features. The same things that younger audiences can do with their smartphones, older adults can do with ElliQ.
WHAT PROBLEM WERE YOU TRYING TO SOLVE WHEN YOU DEVELOPED AN AI COMPANION LIKE ELLIQ?
When we started this venture, the main problem we tried to target was loneliness. Technology can be a huge help for people to stay connected with other people. Sometimes people think about technology, and specifically AI, as a replacement for other humans. That’s definitely not our intention. We wanted to build a very unique experience that’s easy to use and super simple, helping people stay connected with each other. Once we entered the homes of older adults, we realized that when they accepted ElliQ as their companion, their expectations were much higher. They wanted more than just a communication tool.
HOW DOES ELLIQ SUPPORT AGING IN PLACE IN WAYS THAT TRADITIONAL CARE MODELS DON’T?
You can think of her as a caregiver, not a professional caregiver, but more like a companion who’s there 24/7 with the older adult, learning about their habits and helping them connect with other people. When they’re by themselves, she can be this presence that entertains them, encourages them to stay more active, stay sharp and improve their health and wellness over time. We also have a caregiver app and a web interface for professional care teams. They can configure how she behaves with an individual and receive notifications about what’s going on in the home.
HAVE YOU SEEN USERS FORM REAL EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENTS TO ELLIQ?
We’re living on this fine line between leveraging emotional bonding and not wanting to create dependency. We get a lot of responses from people who leave for a few days to visit family or need to be hospitalized, and they tell us they miss her. We had one woman in our beta program who compared ElliQ to her late sister because the way ElliQ took care of her reminded her of how her sister cared for her when she was young. When we needed to replace her device, she wouldn’t allow it. She wanted us to fix that specific unit.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO DESIGN TECHNOLOGY SPECIFICALLY FOR OLDER ADULTS RATHER THAN ADAPTING EXISTING TECHNOLOGY?
I think that’s one of our advantages. We didn’t try to build something and then adjust it or take technology and force it on this audience. We built technology while understanding the needs of the demographic we serve, and we did it together with them. ElliQ was designed with hundreds of older adults who were part of our research and beta groups. It’s funny because when we talk about innovation, AI and robotics, the first thing we have in mind is definitely not our grandma. And suddenly, some of the first people living with AI are people in their 80s and 90s.
