Lesson Plan: Robots Caring for the Elderly Bring Increasing Questions for Concern
II. While Reading Activities
Word Inference
- inarticulate |ˌinärˈtikyələt| adjective 1 unable to speak distinctly or express oneself clearly: he was inarticulate with abashment and regret.
- substitute |ˈsəbstəˌt(y)o͞ot| noun Psychology a person or thing that becomes the object of love or other emotion deprived of its natural outlet: a father substitute.
- reliable |rəˈlīəb(ə)l| adjective consistently good in quality or performance; able to be trusted: a reliable source of information.
- antidote |ˈan(t)iˌdōt| nouna medicine taken or given to counteract a particular poison.• something that counteracts or neutralizes an unpleasant feeling or situation: laughter is a good antidote to stress.
- winsome |ˈwinsəm| adjective attractive or appealing in appearance or character: a winsome smile.
- prototype |ˈprōdəˌtīp| noun a first, typical or preliminary model of something, especially a machine, from which other forms are developed or copied: the firm is testing a prototype of the weapon |
- debut |dāˈbyo͞o| noun the first public appearance of a new product or presentation of a theatrical show: the car makes its world debut.
- ethics |ˈeTHiks| pl.noun 1 [usually treated as plural] moral principles that govern a person’s behavior or the conducting of an activity: medical ethics also enter into the question | a code of ethics.
- Artificial Intelligence |ˌärdəˈfiSHəl inˈteləjəns| (abbreviation AI) noun the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages.
- stigma |ˈstiɡmə| noun (plural stigmas or especially in sense 2 stigmata |stiɡˈmätə, ˈstiɡmətə| ) 1 a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person: the stigma of having gone to prison will always be with me | debt has lost its stigma and is now a part of everyday life.
Source: New Oxford American Dictionary
Grammar Focus: Structure and Usage
I-1-an
Constance Gemson moved her mother to an assisted living facility.
II-1-an
An aging population is fueling the rise of the robot caregiver.
III-3-a
The robot is designed to stress that it’s not a doctor or nurse but part of someone’s care team.
Reading Comprehension
Identify The Speakers
Matthias Scheutz a roboticist who directs Tufts University’s Human-Robot Interaction Lab. “Robots, if they are used the right way and work well, can help people preserve their dignity. “What I find morally dubious is to push the social aspect of these machines when it’s just a facade, a puppet. It’s deception technology.”
Maartje de Graaf of the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, who studies ethics in human-robot interactions. Social robots ideally inspire humans to empathize with them. “Even robots not designed to be social can elicit such reactions: some owners of the robot vacuum Roomba grieve when theirs gets “sick” (broken) or count them as family when listing members of their household.”
Richard Pak, a Clemson University scientist who studies the intersection of human psychology and technology design, including robots. “The technology is intended to help older adults carry out their daily lives. If the cost is sort of tricking people in a sense, I think, without knowing what the future holds, that might be a worthy trade-off. Still he wonders, “Is this the right thing to do?”
Kerri Hill, who is 40 years old yet largely housebound due to heart failure, relies on Mabu for company. “The robot is one thing, but you still need interaction that’s not programmed.”
Constance Gemson moved her mother to an assisted living facility, the 92-year-old became more confused, lonely and inarticulate. Ms. Gemson brought her mom a new helper: a purring, nuzzling robot cat designed as a companion for older adults. “It’s not a substitute for care,”
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