The use of AI robots in everyday scenarios, especially in assisted living for the elderly, will require gradual introduction as the technology matures in order to ensure reliable care, according to Zhang Bo, a pioneering AI expert and academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
In a recent interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), the 89-year-old scientist, who is also the Honorary Director of the Institute for Artificial Intelligence at Tsinghua University, shared his insights on the feasibility of using AI robots in elderly care, a topic gaining increasing attention as birth rates decline and populations age worldwide.
"It seems that assisting the elderly and people with disabilities is an important aspect of robotic applications. The prospects are promising but it appears that replacing humans must be done gradually. Why? Because the main issue is reliability. Since you are allowing robots to provide services, you must ensure absolute reliability. At the current stage of AI development, whether in terms of software or hardware, it is difficult to ensure a very high level of reliability. So, I think that in the future, helping the elderly or assisting people with disabilities will definitely be a gradual process," said Zhang.
The professor emphasized that the effective implementation of AI in complex tasks will require significant advances in accurate environmental perception.
"AI must have accurate awareness of its environment because the environment is constantly changing. For instance, when it comes to autonomous driving, caution is still necessary. This is because the perception under all-weather conditions is not sufficiently developed. So, implementation should be gradual. Actually, autonomous driving cannot operate in heavy rain or snow. Two main technologies - all-weather perception and reliability - must reach a certain level before they can replace more complex tasks," he said.
Academician calls for gradual introudction of AI robots in elderly care
