[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

To be clear, I do generally support providing elderly people with robot pets. But QuickTidal seemed to specifically want to give FIL a dog so that caring for that dog would motivate him to take care of himself. Granted, there are various ways that a robo-dog could be designed so that it needs to be taken care of, perhaps in a gamified way---put "food" in its bowl or it will get hungry and yowl pitiously at you, and eventually "die"? take it for a walk, or it will start leaving malodorous pellets of "poop" by your favorite chair?---teach it tricks?---train it to chase teenagers off your lawn, and battle other robot dogs?---but so long as he's not so far gone that he doesn't understand it's a robot, it seems unlikely to be quite as motivating as a living dog (if he can manage one).

Another possibility is using augmented reality to enhance the realism of the robo-dog. (And its poop...) With the robot providing the tactile element that would otherwise be lacking. (So long as the headset doesn't increase his risk of falling...)

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 15 December 2024 - 02:17 PM

[amphibian]

Robot pets are limited, yet far better than the dog walking robots (that can't solve the higher order problems encountered while walking dogs).

The devices that act as pets truly do help people with cognitive disabilities, even if they know it's a game/machine. This is one of those things where the limited artificial learning networks are useful (surprisingly so, especially in comparison to their near total lack of use outside of photo recognition and data meta trends).

Dunno what you're on about with the other stuff. Go get yourself a robot pet and see if you like it.

[Azath Vitr (D'ivers]

amphibian, on 15 December 2024 - 04:21 PM, said:

Robot pets are limited, yet far better than the dog walking robots (that can't solve the higher order problems encountered while walking dogs).

That's why you make sure there's also a human (either owner or professional robodogwalkeroperator) who can passively monitor the robodogwalker (or be alerted---along with authorities---in case of emergency) and take over its body if necessary. (And---since this is America---you make sure the robodogwalker is bulletproof... and has lots of guns.)

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This is one of those things where the limited artificial learning networks are useful (surprisingly so, especially in comparison to their near total lack of use outside of photo recognition and data meta trends).

Oh ffs... artificial neural networks now have many, many applications beyond that, and myriad studies have demonstrated substantial productivity boosts from using AI or assistive AI across many fields. Though perhaps most notably to assist programmers. (At the cost of some messy code that will need to be fixed later... perhaps by better AI.)

Quote

Dunno what you're on about with the other stuff.

Taking care of a living thing giving elderly people who otherwise might neglect to take of themselves a reason to? See for example this study:

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The study measured three attributes: mastery, self-rated health, and self-rated happiness. Mastery was defined as the belief that one's actions and choices determine outcomes in life. Often, when adults make the transition from living on their own to an assisted-living or long-term-care facility, they begin to feel a loss of control in their choices and independence. This loss of mastery has a negative impact on their overall sense of health and well-being. [...]

One known way to improve the physical or emotional status of people who have diminished control over their lives is by encouraging them to take responsibility for another individual. This "other individual" may be a person, animal, or plant.

Houseplants Increase Quality Of Life For Retirement Community Residents | ScienceDaily

Granted, the examples I gave of extending that principle to robopets were purposefully silly, but the ways to make them possibly work should be pretty obvious... not simulated poop or food-in-bowl but something like having robodog whine if you don't walk it, or don't "take care of" it in other ways. Perhaps even just replacing the batteries or plugging it in to charge. As for the augmented reality---personally one of my issues with the robot cats I've examined is that they don't look realistic enough. Augmented reality could help fix that. And of course you don't need to wear a clunky headset, just glasses or goggles (that also hopefully won't increase the likelihood of falling... perhaps they could even monitor your balance for you and give you alerts if there are objects you might trip over or bump into).

This post has been edited by Azath Vitr (D'ivers: 15 December 2024 - 08:31 PM

[Tiste Simeon]

I think the kids have got chicken pox. Excellent timing.

[QuickTidal]

Tiste Simeon, on 18 December 2024 - 07:14 PM, said:

I think the kids have got chicken pox. Excellent timing.

Brutal. Sorry your household went down just before the holiday. I've very much been there (Scarlet Fever one year, and HFM another), solidarity man.

[Mezla PigDog]

Tiste Simeon, on 18 December 2024 - 07:14 PM, said:

I think the kids have got chicken pox. Excellent timing.

D'oh. Making memories!

They will most likely be through the worst of it by Christmas Day if the spots are coming out now.
If that helps...

[Tsundoku]

Of course the 5 days of the cricket test match here is Brisvegas would be pretty much wiped by rain ... followed by 5 days of sunshine. Stupid weather.

#firstworldproblems

[Tiste Simeon]

Mezla PigDog, on 18 December 2024 - 09:00 PM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 18 December 2024 - 07:14 PM, said:

I think the kids have got chicken pox. Excellent timing.

D'oh. Making memories!

They will most likely be through the worst of it by Christmas Day if the spots are coming out now.
If that helps...

Yes I'm actually quite hopeful that they'll be better and on reflection they're not that ill. Only one of them has actual coverage of spots so it's perhaps not as bad as I thought. Could be hand foot and mouth.

Also thankfully our plans weren't too intricate this year. So if we do need to change things it won't require huge shifts or loss of funds etc.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Tiste Simeon, on 19 December 2024 - 09:04 AM, said:

Mezla PigDog, on 18 December 2024 - 09:00 PM, said:

Tiste Simeon, on 18 December 2024 - 07:14 PM, said:

I think the kids have got chicken pox. Excellent timing.

D'oh. Making memories!

They will most likely be through the worst of it by Christmas Day if the spots are coming out now.
If that helps...

Yes I'm actually quite hopeful that they'll be better and on reflection they're not that ill. Only one of them has actual coverage of spots so it's perhaps not as bad as I thought. Could be hand foot and mouth.

Also thankfully our plans weren't too intricate this year. So if we do need to change things it won't require huge shifts or loss of funds etc.

Hope everyone's feeling better soon, Tiste. Glad to hear they're not feeling too poorly with it.

[QuickTidal]

Well, me commenting here in sympathy for Tiste's fam has jinxed me.


My son was up at 1AM puking and pooping his guts out. Seems to have some sort of gastro distress...that will likely pass to my wife as she was up with him since I get up at 4:30AM for work.....which means my daughter and I might get it as well.


Going to be an interesting few days. Wish us luck.

[Tiste Simeon]

QuickTidal, on 19 December 2024 - 02:55 PM, said:

Well, me commenting here in sympathy for Tiste's fam has jinxed me.


My son was up at 1AM puking and pooping his guts out. Seems to have some sort of gastro distress...that will likely pass to my wife as she was up with him since I get up at 4:30AM for work.....which means my daughter and I might get it as well.


Going to be an interesting few days. Wish us luck.

Oh no! Sorry for passing it on!

Hopefully you'll all clear up nicely before next week!

[QuickTidal]

That's certainly my hope. Crossing fingers and toes.

[worry]

You need to update your antivirus software.

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

It’s been a hard year medically for the family. I and my son have pneumonia. My FIL is in the hospital with Covid for the second time. My wife and other son had Covid, then she was hospitalized for asthma and breathing related to the Covid. My dad was in the hospital twice for a major stab wound. My mom just got diagnosed with diabetes. My sister is leaking brain fluid after a tree fell on her. I’m trying to get diagnosed with a genetic disorder my sister has but am getting pushback from an uncaring medical system. I have something weird with my gums. The weight thing is background to all of it. It’s been a lot.

[Tsundoku]

Raymond Luxury Yacht, on 22 December 2024 - 03:09 AM, said:

... a major stab wound.

Whoa RLY, sounds like I'm not the only one who will be happy to see the back of 2024, but I have to admit the above is the part I went "WTF?" on. You sort of slid it in there.

[amphibian]

Raymond Luxury Yacht, on 22 December 2024 - 03:09 AM, said:

It’s been a hard year medically for the family. I and my son have pneumonia. My FIL is in the hospital with Covid for the second time. My wife and other son had Covid, then she was hospitalized for asthma and breathing related to the Covid. My dad was in the hospital twice for a major stab wound. My mom just got diagnosed with diabetes. My sister is leaking brain fluid after a tree fell on her. I’m trying to get diagnosed with a genetic disorder my sister has but am getting pushback from an uncaring medical system. I have something weird with my gums. The weight thing is background to all of it. It’s been a lot.

That's so much. I hope everyone gets to an upwards trend soon.

Thanks for sharing. Anything we can help with - a distraction? More discussion of demon chickens?

[Tiste Simeon]

Raymond Luxury Yacht, on 22 December 2024 - 03:09 AM, said:

It’s been a hard year medically for the family. I and my son have pneumonia. My FIL is in the hospital with Covid for the second time. My wife and other son had Covid, then she was hospitalized for asthma and breathing related to the Covid. My dad was in the hospital twice for a major stab wound. My mom just got diagnosed with diabetes. My sister is leaking brain fluid after a tree fell on her. I’m trying to get diagnosed with a genetic disorder my sister has but am getting pushback from an uncaring medical system. I have something weird with my gums. The weight thing is background to all of it. It’s been a lot.

Dude that's brutal. Here's hoping for a peaceful and restful Christmas time.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

Raymond Luxury Yacht, on 22 December 2024 - 03:09 AM, said:

It's been a hard year medically for the family. I and my son have pneumonia. My FIL is in the hospital with Covid for the second time. My wife and other son had Covid, then she was hospitalized for asthma and breathing related to the Covid. My dad was in the hospital twice for a major stab wound. My mom just got diagnosed with diabetes. My sister is leaking brain fluid after a tree fell on her. I'm trying to get diagnosed with a genetic disorder my sister has but am getting pushback from an uncaring medical system. I have something weird with my gums. The weight thing is background to all of it. It's been a lot.

That's an awful lot all together - I really hope you and your family can have a peaceful Christmas.

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

Thanks everyone. We are all together for Christmas. My dad went to the hospital today and found out that he also has a double hernia which is why he can barely walk right now. Just going to try and enjoy the next week all together.

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

lol I forgot to mention the shooting headaches I’ve been getting every day in one specific spot on the back of my head. Going to the doctor for that one after Christmas for sure. I’m sure it’s fine.