I have dementia. I respond to a robotic pet as though it were a real one. Am I being duped? Does it matter?

Where do you stand on the ethics of robotic pets versus real ones for people living with dementia? Are we playing with people’s dignity by letting them canoodle with a pet that was assembled on a conveyor belt, a pet they treat as real?

So here is my take on the subject:

I define technology as something beyond our bodies that we manipulate to create meaning. The hand dipped in ochre and waved across the cave wall was one of the first technological ideas. Jumping a few hundred millennia, a feather becomes a quill pen and now we can offload our thoughts onto paper to develop more sophisticated constructions than we otherwise could. Then comes the printing press; now we can distribute those ideas. The internet releases knowledge, enabling it to flow with infinite iterations across networks. And now, AI, as my co-founder, Serge Soudoplatoff explains, is “expertise, everywhere”.

Let’s pull up here, and go back to robotic pets.

Why not think of robot pets as intelligence, embodied; a transactional smart object that gets us to where we want to go just like the other technologies I’ve mentioned. These synthetic critters are a way to amplify affect, knowledge, experience. It is not we who question the ethics of a non-biological pet that matters; it’s the person who is stroking that critter. Why rob others of the opportunity to make meaning from the objects around them? After all, every day, each one of us accepts tech-enabled substitutes for the real thing: a musical recording in place of attending a concert, a Skype call instead of a visit, an emoji kiss instead of a peck on the cheek, frequent flyer miles instead of coins in the hand, and so on.

In short, we live in a world where actual and virtual objects and experiences merge together. This may sound unpalatable to some, but when we create meaning from stuff, and they have a real impact on us, that experience is real. In the case of robotic animals, the impact can be visceral, embodied, emotional…real.

Accepting the interplay is to live in the modern world. You and I coexist with simulation in our everyday lives — why would we prevent people living with dementia to do the same, especially as they have been making meaning from simulations and substitutes throughout their lives? Why stop now?

That said, I’m putting in a request for robotic pooches that have the earthy smell of doggy skin and fur that feels real. Oh, and I want to take actual walks in the park, have fresh-cut flowers in my room, and have regular visits from some friendly neighborhood canines, too.

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