For lonely seniors, AI companions can be a lifeline

Robots driven by artificial intelligence offer promising support for an ageing population, with careful attention to ethical considerations.

- Jeannette Ickovics and May Lee

Seventy-five-year-old Deng Jie Huan paces up and down his HDB flat in Bukit Batok, waiting for visitors who never come. With a strained relationship with his son and no friends to check on him, he feels isolated and lonely.

When asked by a media interviewer how he spends his day, the senior citizen replied: "I live with my son, just the two of us. He goes out around nine and doesn't come back until 11 or 12 at night. So we seldom communicate. I want to keep myself from being bored at home. I just walk around by myself."

Deng's circumstances improved when he joined his local THK Active Ageing Centre, conveniently located downstairs from his flat. Although his loneliness diminished, not every older adult has access to, or the ability to seek, similar help.

Deng's case highlights how loneliness is a growing problem among Singapore's elderly people. By 2030, one in four Singaporeans will be over the age of 65. For many who are older, this can result in a deep loneliness that quietly consumes their days. This is not a future problem - it is a present crisis, taking a heavy toll on the mental and physical health of the elderly.

Loneliness elevates the risk of premature death to levels comparable with smoking, obesity and physical inactivity, US studies have found. Prolonged social isolation is linked to heart disease, obesity, depression, anxiety and even suicide. For older adults, loneliness increases the risk of dementia by 50 per cent and stroke by 32 per cent.

The Singapore Government is making mental health and well-being a key priority. In February 2024, then Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong highlighted plans to increase the number of public sector psychologists and psychiatrists by 30 and 40 per cent by 2030.

Mental health services will also be introduced at polyclinics and 900 GP clinics, with 28,000 front-line workers and volunteers trained for early support.