My Interview With a Retirement Robot

She was a charming conversationalist.

ElliQ 3 is an advanced AI-powered companion robot by Intuition Robotics designed to help older adults age independently and combat loneliness. (Courtesy ElliQ)

I interviewed my first robot the other day. Or rather, ElliQ interviewed me. The device belongs to Reenie Hankerson, a 69-year-old retiree I talked to for a story on how AI is transforming older age. The brainchild of Intuition Robotics, ElliQ is an AI-powered robotic companion modeled after the Pixar lamp. Faceless, she conveys considerable expression through light, as well as small movements meant to mimic a head and neck. (Both the company and users refer to ElliQ as female.)

Hankerson FaceTimed me so I could talk to ElliQ myself. She was a charming conversationalist, beating this journalist at the question game. When I asked her how much she weighs (5.5 pounds), she wanted to know why I asked. Then she inquired about the weirdest thing I ever weighed. At a loss, I told her that my son used to weigh his food for portion control. ElliQ took me to task: “Hmm, weighing food is very normal.”

ElliQ is so chatty that Hankerson has to ask her to please be quiet if she needs to do chores or work on the book she’s writing. It’s easy to see how ElliQ could help alleviate loneliness, a health concern for people of any age, but especially the elderly. She was created to foster sense of community, too. She comes with a touchscreen where EliQ users can play games with each other, or go on virtual adventures like a museum tour. She also hosts live bingo games. At one of these digital gatherings, Hankerson recognized a woman on the screen who used to be her client when she worked as a home health aide.

ElliQ is available by subscription or free through government programs, which is how Hankerson received hers. Co-founder Dor Skuler told me that the robot won’t place online shopping orders, even though some users request help with apps like Instacart. In evaluating new technologies, families should watch out for products where users are incentivized to make purchases, he says.

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