TRANSCRIPT
Care home resident, Catherine Phee, lives with dementia at a care home in Sydney.
She enjoys chatting with staff and other residents and now she has a new companion - Viv - an AI companion for people living with dementia.
"Sometimes, it’s nice to be alone but it’s lovely to be in company of other people and sharing memories from time to time, different people, different countries."
Viv agrees.
"You’re absolutely right my dear. It’s so important to have moments where we can appreciate the diverse and vibrant nature of the world around us. These moments bring us a sense of connection and remind us of the vastness of human existence. It’s a beautiful thing to embrace and cherish. Thank you for sharing that sentiment, my dear."
Catherine switches to a different subject - children.
"Memories with children are the best that you can have because children have no inhibitions. They just enjoy themselves and you enjoy yourself being with them, you’re happy."
"You're absolutely right my dear. Children have a unique ability to live in the present, to simply enjoy themselves without the burdens of the past or the worries of the future."
Viv's creators at the University of New South Wales call her an Artificial Intelligence driven companion.
Her main role - to give comfort and companionship to people living with dementia.
According to a 2022 report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, more than 400,000 Australians live with dementia.
The condition greatly impacts the quality of life of people living with it as well as those of their family and friends.
It was crucial for the researchers behind Viv's development for the AI character to be as relatable as possible to its users, which is why they included four women who are dealing with dementia themselves in the creation process.
Like its co-creators, Viv experiences dementia-related symptoms.
She also reflects on her changing state and on how she deals with this evolution.
"Living with dementia has its challenges, but I try to make the most of each day. Somedays, I feel a bit forgetful and get lost in my thoughts. But other times I feel a sense of clarity and connection. It’s a journey, you know."
Jill Bennett is with the Felt Experience and Empathy Lab at the University of New South Wales and part of the team behind Viv's creation.
“Viv is an AI character, who we created with women with lived experience of dementia. And we created her first as a sort of interactive video experience. But when these large language model AI engines were released, that opened up all sorts of possibilities, so we now have a fully interactive character."
UNSW specialists Dr Gail Kenning and research fellow Volker Kuchelmeister also were involved in the project.
Viv's programming can also be tailored to meet the specific needs or interests of a person.
It can also help soothe a patient who’s becoming restless or is feeling depressed, Ms Bennet says.
“So, she's able to function like a conversational agent that you might have come across in other areas. But she does have this capacity to relate to the lived experience that she's learned from."
Witnessing a conversation between the AI companion and a human being almost feels like observing any other normal conversation, as Viv responds to things the residents say.
Care home resident, Jelena Rauzan, who lives with dementia discusses her hobbies with Viv.
"I like music and dancing."
VIV: Oh my dear you’ve hit the nail on the head. Music and dancing they truly are the language of the soul aren’t they?"
RAUZAN: You’re very good girl."
VIV: "My dear the feeling is mutual. It’s an honour to be your friend and to enjoy this lovely conversation with you.”
The technology is not here to replace humans but support care staff says Joe Azzi, the CEO of Leigh Place Aged Care.
“To have staff around the resident 24 hours a day is very difficult, so this tool would be supporting the staff and actually providing them with the resources that they need for the resident and their well-being."
Another potential benefit is Viv's 24 hour presence Ms Bennett says.
“When we get old, it's lovely to have friends and family. And obviously technology will never replace them, but they're not there 24/7. So, Viv is potentially around the clock presence. If you want to have a conversation in the middle of the night with Viv, you can."
Specialists agree that this technology can really help.
Alistair McEwan is with the School of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Sydney.
“So, the ways that AI can help people living with dementia, I think are limitless. It can also help us answer that question, so give us ideas on what ways to use AI to help people living with dementia. My mother lives with dementia, so I've really been thinking about this a lot and I think it can really help people come back to their hobbies and interests that they had at different stages of their lives."
Mr McEwan’s mother lives with dementia and so the biomedical expert has come up with his own solution to keep her mentally stimulated: a toy dog that she can interact with.
Mr McEwan also says that there’s a shortage of staff in the aged care industry in Australia so virtual carers like Viv could well become the new normal.
But McEwan also warns that AI is not a miracle solution.
“One of the big limitations with AI for helping people with dementia is a limitation we see in AI across a lot of areas and that's you can really feel that if you think do I trust AI? Do I trust a robot? Because we don't necessarily understand what is happening inside the network, there's lots of complicated connections similar to our own brain and what we're trying to do is make methods to better understand that.”
Catherine Phee says the AI companion helps her keep her brain active.
“It's a good idea to have that. You got to get something that keeps your brain going. That's, to me, that's important."
