Can A.I. Make People Feel Less Lonely?
5/28/202629 min
For years, caretakers and health officials have been raising alarms about loneliness and social isolation among older Americans.
Eli Saslow, a reporter at The New York Times, tells the story of one woman who is using artificial intelligence to keep her independence, and to keep her company.
Guest: Eli Saslow, a reporter for The New York Times who writes in-depth stories about the impact of major national issues on people’s lives.
Background reading:
- At 85, Jan Worrell lived alone on a remote corner of the Washington coast. Could a robot become her companion?
Photo: Ruth Fremson/The New York Times
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
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First 90 secondsSpeaker 00:00
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Rachel Abrams· Host0:24
From The New York Times, I'm Rachel Abrams, and this is The Daily. [upbeat music] For years, caretakers and health officials have warned about the dangers of loneliness and social isolation, especially for older Americans who increasingly find themselves alone. Today, my colleague, Eli Saslow, has the story of one woman who's using technology, artificial intelligence, to keep her independence and to keep her company. [upbeat music] It's Thursday, May twentieth. Eli Saslow, welcome to The Daily.
Eli Saslow· Guest1:20
Thanks so much. Happy to be with you.
Rachel Abrams· Host1:22
You are a journalist who is known for spending a lot of time with individual people who have these really gripping