Don't The Philippines have an abundance of nurses?
From Rest of World, January 14:
The country has a dire shortage of nurses, so to fill the manpower gap, it’s using AI for preventive care.
- By 2030, one in four people in Singapore will be over the age of 65.
- Authorities see potential in AI tools to assist in preventive illness care.
- An AI tool under development will use voice biomarkers to detect early signs of depression in seniors.
Twice a week at a senior care facility in Singapore, a few dozen elderly men and women with dementia gather in a large sunlit room with Dexie, a humanoid robot, who leads their morning exercise session.
“Open and close your hands. Hold both arms up,” Dexie instructs. “We will do this eight times. 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8. Good!”
Since Dexie arrived at The Salvation Army Peacehaven Jade Circle Arena two years ago, residents look forward to the robot leading their exercises, bingo, and sing-along sessions, Barbara Marie Nonis, an 83-year-old, told Rest of World. “It’s fun and something different,” she said.
Dexie’s pre-programmed routines also have another effect. Nur Syamimi Binte Akram, a staff nurse who has worked with Peacehaven residents for more than 20 years, gestured to a petite woman with a shock of curly, white hair: “Some residents like this lady wander around,” she told Rest of World. “But when there’s Dexie, she sits down.”
Studies show that AI companions like Dexie can be just as effective in reducing loneliness as interacting with another person. For Singapore, where an aging population is rapidly becoming the majority and elders are getting lonelier, authorities see the potential of AI tools to assist in preventive illness care, a key emphasis of the city-state’s health care system.
By 2030, one in four Singaporeans will be over 65, requiring eldercare. Currently, about one in 10 seniors above the age of 60 has some form of dementia, according to government data; by 2030, the total number of elders with dementia is expected to increase fivefold....
....MUCH MORE
Even without the nurses there's always doing covers of The Ramones for for some low-cost eye - hand coordinating rhythmic social interactions.
