Publication details
Wakeing up from the gerotechnological optimism
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| Year of publication | 2021 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | The paper presents a work in progress based on the HUMR project looking at the user-involvement in the design of the software for the humanoid robot Pepper. During the process we have encountered several obstacles and turning points which led us to reflect on edges of the digital divide, technology ageism and general pessimism about the reachable levels of technological literacy in older people, potentiated by the limits of the Pepper´s hardware and software solutions, COVID-19 responses altering the “possible” in both positive and negative ways, and last but not least, ethical consideration experienced, and some of the unforeseen during the preparatory phases of the project. The HUMR is an acronym for “The use of the humanoid robot in promoting active ageing in older men and women” (TA ČR 2019 – 2021 grant No. TL02000362). Project is working toward these general goals: ? to bridge the digital divide in older generations ? include „digital immigrants“ into modern ICT development ? increase the involvement of men in organized active ageing activities ? empower women to cherish and enhance their technological skills ? propose alternative approaches to active ageing for all ? reconsider the three box life model (education, work, rest) & re-entry of „play“ into later life stages ? to establish interdisciplinary cooperation cross-fertilising potentials of social sciences, robotics and applied social gerontology. These goals are to be fulfilled by various activities overlapping in time and disciplines, of both scientists, older adults (active-agers), and Pepper the robot. In the course of the project, Pepper will enhance its knowledge of the Czech language, ways how to lead conversation & provide information, recommendation, cognitive training, entertainment & fun. The data generating activities include users, carers & intergenerational focus groups (pre-, mid & post-test), participant observation, work with Pepper´s data (video, audio, text) and development of the software. On these foundations gender and activisation technologies are scrutinised and ethical issues of humanoid robot usage in community settings are debated. In this particular paper we look at various points in the course of the project so far when things “went wrong”, or not as planned, and how we dealt with it. These include conflicts of interests of various subgroups of active agers over the presence of the robot on the premises, misunderstandings within the interdisciplinary project team, fighting the “depths” of the digital divide; dealing with frustrations over the robot´s bugs, losing the participants for not well-adjusted contents of the trainings, the unavoidable impact of the COVID-19 and lock down measures and ethical issues arising from going online |
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