Essay Example on Robotic Companions: The Future of Human Life?

Introduction

Robotic companions are being promoted as an antidote to the burden of longer, lonelier human lives. At stake is the future of what it means to be human.

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By Maggie Jackson, Dec. 13, 2019

Issue Discussed in the Article

The Article by Maggie task about the embrace of robots to care for the elderly in future. It is perceived that the robotic companions to the elderly can help to live relatively longer since they will no longer be lonelier. The question is: would you allow a robot to take care of your elderly parent? The society is facing more and more challenge in trying to cope with such technological changes in our life. The fact of allowing robots to provide companionship to the elder is making many to be sceptical since they do not have emotions or feeling as humans.

Many "Joy for All" robotic pets such as dogs are developed to offer a companion to the seniors; have been drastically purchased in America based on the Debut Inc. report statement. Regardless of various critics on the robotic caregivers, the sales of such robots are predicted to rise by over 20% yearly (the industry group International Federation of Robotics).

How the Issue of Robotic Companions would affect the seniors

It is believed that the robot caregivers would be of benefit to the aging population since the devices would provide new forms of relationships and aid. The robot companion would help to cares for the figure of the seniors that is projected to double by 2050 because the robots are viewed as a relief to lonelier seniors.

Nonetheless, some of the milestones have been initiated, which currently have a positive impact on the elderly. For example, Winsom tabletop robots are presently used to remind the seniors to follow their respective medication at specific times; some assist them to walk, and some can also fetch snacks o the elderly owners. This has been of help to many of the seniors who never had people to care for them or felt lonely; thus, some have their lives relatively prolonged. One of the negative issues of robot caregivers is that it can lower the dignity of individual seniors.

What is learnt from the article?

The article tends to be very informative, and a lot is learnt from it. The advancement in technology is helping in almost every sector of people's lives, such as caring for the seniors in the society. However, there is needed to be concerned about the ethics of the various applications of technological devices. For instance, some people feel that the robot may infringe the freedom of their owners. The robot can also have breakdowns and may be costly to fix, indicating that the elderly may still have to occur some costs as well. It is evident that with the vision of designing more effective robotic caregivers, the world is perspired to ensure that the elderly are cared for in their times of need.

How Medicare Fails the Elderly

Issue Discussed In the Article

The article discusses the effects of Medicare for the elderly in America. It highlights various failures of health care in caring for and protecting the elderly. The author claims that the Medicare law was amended with no clear visionary for the future, thus leaving the elderly at the worst end as they have to suffer the most. The author felt that the fee-for-service doctors and Big Pharma are the ones that stand to gain.

How the Issue of Medicare Affects the Elderly

Many researchers have written several journals to highlight the issues that affect the elderly. For example, a journal that highlighted on how "Tight glycemic control for Type 2 diabetes, present in 1 of 4 people over 65, often requires 8 to 10 years before it helps prevent blindness, kidney disease or amputations. Without enough time to reap the benefits, the elderly endure needless dietary limits and needle sticks." However, the Medicare, which is obliged to pay for such instance of medication, does not seem to settle the bill but only in some rare cases such as paying for the extended term-care care demented seniors or home aides to assist in kinds of stuff like bathing, shopping and transportation. Many of the elderly persons tend to personally pay for some of the services form their little life saving until they run out of cash.

The level of negligence has resulted in the premature death of some seniors. Even with the deductions to support the Medicare, the elder does not seem to have enough disbursement to cover for all that they need as some of the additional home aides expenses are collected from them. Many of the citizens go extra miles to pay for the devices such as wheelchairs and staff which are supposed to be the responsibility f the Medicare. It is predicted that over 70% of the seniors will require there care extended before their deaths.

The fact about the mismatch between what is useful and that which is covered in the Medicare, make many families worried with the ineffectiveness of the programs regarding the care for the elderly. Such mismatch negatively affects the seniors in the community, drain the funds from the Medicare Trust Fund and this is extended to the children of the elderly who have to deplete their reserves as far as retirement is concerned.

What is learnt from the article?

What is learned is that the Medicare system is relatively unsustainable and mismatch the users really expectation as the health care policy. The author tends to highlight the various concerns that she feels need to be adjusted in the policy to make it more effective. Most of the citizens, especially those who are related to the elderly, seem to be unsatisfied with the Medicare, maybe just because they are uninformed or have not experienced any issue with the system. Again, it is learned that the formulation of laws was supposed to represent the pillar of a community. Moreover, the number of people on Medicare is projected to heighten to over 90 million by 2050; thus more focus is needed to ensure that Medicare meets the need of the seniors in the society who save tirelessly for their future care provision as far as their medication is concerned.

References

Burden, D., & Savin-Baden, M. (2019). Virtual humans: Today and tomorrow. Chapman and Hall/CRC.

Gross, J. A. N. E. (2011). How Medicare fails the elderly. New York Times Sunday Review October, 16.