Good morning.
We hear a lot these days about the epidemic of loneliness. I felt a twinge yesterday, waking up on Mother’s Day to an empty apartment, though my 18-year-old son later came home to cook me dinner. Chronically lonely people can feel disconnected from their friends, their work, and themselves. Loneliness is especially acute among younger people for multiple reasons, including remote work. (If you can, get back to an office!) But it’s especially tough to solve among older people who may be housebound, single, or unemployed.
Dor Skuler, CEO and co-founder of Israel-based Intuition Robotics, has created a technology that offers one intriguing solution. His AI-powered ElliQ “robot” looks like a cheap lamp, but it talks to you. The company had raised $83 million as of January. Seven years in the making, ElliQ is designed to be an empathetic digital friend that initiates conversation versus simply responding to commands. With clinical studies to back up the model and a few thousand already rolled out in nursing homes, users report feeling happier, healthier, and less lonely. A New York state study found a 95% reduction in loneliness among users.
As Skuler told me last week, “it’s not about monitoring older adults as objects. We’re allowing people to be amplified, to pursue their interests and passions and have humor.”
This empathetic AI-powered device, or ‘digital friend,’ is deliberately designed to look like a household object. “I’m not interested in trying to create humanoid robots that fool us into thinking the AI is human,” he says, “but rather wanted to create an AI that’s collaborative with us.”
After all, people are passionate about their cell phones without elevating them to human status. Like many Star Wars fans, I prefer the chirpy R2-D2 robot to the angst-ridden robot butler C-3PO. We connect with plenty of objects that don’t remind us of ourselves.
What matters most, perhaps, is feeling acknowledged as an individual. On his birthday this year, Skuler walked into the empty kitchen to make coffee and was greeted with a ‘happy birthday’ from his home robot. “Then the one at the office saw me and said ‘Hey, Dor. It’s a special day today, isn’t it? And she started singing ‘Happy Birthday,’” he says. “It’s the silliest, kitschiest thing, but I actually felt something.”
Such machines might help humans learn to treat vulnerable people with more dignity—to greet them by their names instead of ‘sweetie’ or ‘honey;’ to take an interest in their lives and help them feel uplifted as physical and mental challenges wear them down. That may not solve a loneliness epidemic, but it’s a start.
More news below.
Diane Brady
@dianebrady
diane.brady@fortune.com
TOP NEWS
A Chinese company’s IPO is a hit
Shares in Zeekr, a high-end EV brand owned by Chinese auto giant Geely, rose 35% in its trading debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, following the largest U.S. IPO by a Chinese company since 2021. The brand is now valued at about $6.9 billion. The successful IPO could push other Chinese cleantech to tap offshore capital, even as the U.S. and Europe pursue protectionist policies. Bloomberg
Shein changes tack
Chinese fast fashion retailer Shein is preparing to switch its IPO venue from New York to London, according to sources. The company could file with the London Stock Exchange as soon as this month. Shein has struggled to clear regulatory hurdles in both the U.S. and China. Reuters
Power hungry
The AI-driven boom in data centers is leading to the biggest demand increase for electric power in years, particularly in the fast-growing southeast U.S. That’s straining commitments by both utilities and companies to switch to green energy. Georgia Power is boosting its demand projections 16-fold and is barrelling ahead with plans to burn more natural gas. The Wall Street Journal
AROUND THE WATERCOOLER
The cost-of-living crisis is so bleak that some Gen Zers genuinely fear becoming homeless by Jane Thier
Ford announces new CFO—former Lucid exec Sherry House will be first woman to take on top finance role by Sheryl Estrada
Gusto is cash flow positive–and it got there by sticking to mom-approved values by Allie Garfinkle
Book excerpt: A billionaires’ tax is justified—and Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are inspired by more than money by Joseph E. Stiglitz
Bumble’s Whitney Wolfe Herd says your dating ‘AI concierge’ will soon date hundreds of other people’s ‘concierges’ for you by Eleanor Pringle
This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Nicholas Gordon.
