Thesis 29 talks about the application of Everyware in order to help the aging population. This is an interesting application for technology. It could eventually turn into an extension of the house's alarm system. It would just make sure that all the residents were alright, as opposed to just making sure the house was locked. The increase in technology is not only helping to extend the length of life for people, but it will also help to increase the quality of life for our elderly. As stated in the thesis, the common reminders that the system could deliver to aid in everyday tasks would undoubtedly help to preserve the self image of the elderly, even as they venture down the slippery slope to losing their memory.
One concern that I have with this proposed use of Everyware is that many of our eldest citizens are the same that are most resistant to change. The thought of my grandma trusting a bunch of computers to take care of her as she ages is beyond my understanding. There is no way she would allow "those fancy machines" to do anything for her. She does not even have a PC, and the thought of her allowing her entire house to be computerized is far fetched. I do not know if a vast majority of the elderly have feelings similar to those of my grandma's, but I assume that many are as apprehensive to change.
Everyware to take care of the elderly is most likely to succeed with a generation that has grown up with computers.
1 comment:
This thesis kind of reminds me of the movie with Robin Williams, "Bicentennial Man" with him being the robot that takes care of the family til death. (I could have the story line a bit off. It's been a while since I've seen it).
I know Honda is working on a robot that assist with house chores, but I am not sure if our technology will reach the point that the movie did, which a very human-like robot built with emotions. When you take a step back and look at the whole picture, what kind of emotional connection will we have with our loved ones? If we allow technology to start doing alot of our work, will our emotional bond be weaker? Our society is becoming more and more busy everyday and simple things tend to get bypassed because we lean on technology to do it for us. For example, chatting online versus visiting in person. Are we going to begin losing the human interaction and replace with the virtual version?
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