Cold Comfort

Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics: Petrie Dishes

Should Social Robots be Used to Provide Emotional Support?

PARO is a cuddly baby seal used as an emotional companion robot in elder care. Emotional companion robots provide some of the benefits of therapy animals, without the attendant challenges of a live animal.

But while emotional companion robots can provide comfort to older adults, they might also provide a way out for human caretakers. Beyond the question of substitution, ethical concerns about the potentially deceptive nature of emotional companion robots make PARO the adorable seal into something a bit less cuddly and a bit more ethically challenging.

This episode will untangle the dilemma posed by social robots. Cynthia Chauhan (a patient advocate and two-time cancer survivor) will share her experience using one; Ari Waldman (an authority on the nexus of law and technology) will discuss the issues that arise when animatronics replace human caretakers.

Created with support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Cammann Fund at Harvard University.