The key, she says, is to relate new technologies to things pensioners are familiar with, like telephones, dictating and typewriters. When Petrie introduced groups of older people to voice input technology – a much more accessible option for people with arthritic hands than a keyboard and mouse. “They loved it,” Petrie enthuses. “They said: ‘We never knew this existed, what a wonderful idea. Why can’t we use a computer this way?’”
Petrie is currently researching whether virtual personal assistants or companions would also be useful for older people living alone.
“Part of what a virtual assistant could do would be to encourage you to go out, or to Skype your children or friends, so it would help you keep in touch with real human beings,” she explains. “You could have a purely software system with an avatar on a TV or PC screen. Or would people prefer it was a physical thing that sat on their kitchen table and talked to them?” One mainstream example of the latter that Petrie is studying is the Nabaztag electronic ‘smart rabbit’. The plastic pet connects to the Internet and can carry out a range of tasks including reading website content and blogs, giving news or weather information on demand, and telling you when emails have arrived.
“I think this is the future,” says Petrie.
The idea that any form of electronic assistant or monitoring could be misused to replace human interaction does, however, cause anxiety. “People need people primarily,” says Brooker, “and I think the biggest danger is that we use technology to take the place of human contact and kindness, and that it is seen as a cheaper alternative to having staff visit people.”
“It could mean staff sit in a control room looking at a monitor,” Edmondson points out. “What the residents [of sheltered housing schemes] need is company, and people to see them on a daily basis. They don’t want to be ruled by machines.”