Artificial Intelligence (AI) care robots have been found to significantly alleviate depression in the elderly. (Image courtesy of Danyang County)
DANYANG, Jan. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — Artificial Intelligence (AI) care robots have been found to significantly alleviate depression in the elderly, according to a study conducted in Danyang County, North Chungcheong Province.
On January 24, Danyang County reported that after distributing AI care robots to 110 solitary seniors aged between 65 and 85 in early October last year, a Korean Geriatric Depression Scale (K-GDS) test conducted at the end of December showed promising results.
The test revealed that the average depression index among the elderly subjects dropped to 3.9, a significant decrease from the 7.3 average score measured before the robots’ distribution in September.
The K-GDS depression index categorizes scores as follows: 0-4 points (normal), 5-9 points (mild depression), and 10-15 points (moderate depression).
The introduction of AI care robots brought a remarkable improvement in the elderly’s mental health, shifting from mild depression to a normal range in less than three months.
These robots, utilizing ChatGPT for conversational abilities, enable simple interactions with the elderly. They also feature emergency safety functions; utterances like “Save me,” “Help,” or “I’m in pain” trigger an alarm, alerting staff at the 24-hour control center. The robot switches to CCTV mode for staff to assess the situation and, if necessary, request emergency services.
Encouraged by high satisfaction rates among the elderly and the robots’ effectiveness in improving mental health, Danyang County plans to expand the distribution of AI care robots through national or local government funding.
Kim Moon-geun, the head of DanYang County stated, “With over 36% of our population being elderly and the number of seniors living alone increasing, we are committed to enhancing our elderly care system by increasing the distribution of AI care robots.”
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
