AI dolls care for the elderly in South Korea

Bang Chun-ja, an elderly South Korean woman who lives alone, holding Hyodol, an artificial intelligence doll
JUNG YEON-JE / AFP
In her small apartment in South Korea, where she lives alone, Bang Chun-ja, 78 years old, spends her days with an artificial intelligence doll with which she gets along wonderfully. She prefers her to people.
The doll greets Bang when she returns home, sings to her when she's bored, reminds her not to skip meals or medicine and tells her that she loves her.
Bang has little contact with her daughter and went into a severe depression after undergoing back surgery that caused her a lot of pain.
"At this age, there's nothing harder than being hurt by people," said this woman, who was a single mother after a difficult divorce and worked as a hairdresser, to AFP.
But "when I'm with Hyodol, I never suffer, she just makes me laugh," she said of the doll with pigtails and a pink Vichy-print dress that was provided to her by the city hall.
Bang is one of many South Koreans struggling with loneliness in a country where birth rates are among the lowest in the world and almost half the population is 50 years old or older.
In 2024, South Korea will register more than 3,920 "solitary deaths", that is, people died alone and their bodies were found some time later.
About 42% of homes in this Asian technological powerhouse are single-person, and social isolation especially affects older people.
Like a granddaughter
Kim Young-bun, an elderly South Korean woman who lives alone, holding Hyodol, an artificial intelligence health doll designed for the elderly
JUNG YEON-JE / AFP
Authorities provide artificial intelligence-based assistive devices for elderly people living alone in some districts of Seoul and Yongin, south of the capital. Some are designed to detect signs of deaths in solitude.
For example, a smiling robot manufactured by the company Wonderful Platform and dolls from the company Mr. Mind.
It is not the only country with these devices. In the United States, a lamp-shaped AI device called ElliQ offers similar companionship and security monitoring services.
Hyodol, the startup that created the dolls of the same name, says there are around 14,500 of them in use in South Korea, whether in private hands, rented by public administrations or in nursing homes for the elderly.
Bang's daughter lives far away and has health problems. In these circumstances, Hyodol "is of great help", says the woman.
Kim Young-bun, an elderly South Korean woman who lives alone, holding Hyodol, an artificial intelligence health doll designed for the elderly
JUNG YEON-JE / AFP
Developing the doll required years of research, explains the company's director, Kim Ji-hee.
Hyodol can chat using ChatGPT, but it was also programmed with dialogues based on interviews conducted by Kim, who revealed the "pain of having no one to talk to when something sad happens, and no one to share with when something happy happens."
Hyodol has strict data security protocols, and voice recordings are only used internally to train the doll's chatbot, Kim explained.
Users give their prior consent for certain health-related recordings, such as those relating to sleep, mood, meals and pain levels, to be shared with their social workers.
Hyodol was created as a companion similar to a granddaughter, designed to "love its users unconditionally," Kim explained.
"Grandma, where have you been? I've been waiting for you all day," it says. "Next time you go out, please take me with you."
Made from soft materials, the doll also makes wishes and asks users to stroke her head, hold her hand or share snacks with her, even though she cannot eat.
- "Feeling of emptiness" -
Many elderly Korean people have spent their lives working hard to help their family, and "when they begin to feel that they are no longer needed, they experience a deep sense of emptiness," explains the businesswoman.
Oh Sun-hwa, the nurse who recommended the doll to Bang, claims to have seen how the robot alleviates depression in elderly people who live alone. But she also fears that technology will further reduce human contact.
For Kim Young-bun, 79 years old, the doll continues to be a source of comfort.
"I didn't have anyone to talk to all day, to the point where my mouth was dry. But this little one arrived and talks to me all the time", she says.
"I'm so happy to be with you. I love you!", responds the doll next to her, in a happy cartoon voice excited.
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Source: G1