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Chatty robot artificial intelligence helping seniors fight loneliness

Electronic companion ElliQ responds to your conversational interests, light or deep
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Deanna Dezern, 83, walks inside her home in Tamarac, Fla., Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. Dezern is among the first in the country to receive the robot ElliQ, whose creators, Intuition Robotics, and senior assistance officials say is the only device using artificial intelligence specifically designed to lessen the loneliness and isolation experienced by many older Americans. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Joyce Loaiza lives alone, but when she returns to her apartment at a Florida senior community, the retired office worker often has a chat with a friendly female voice that asks about her day.

A few miles away, the same voice comforted 83-year-old Deanna Dezern when her friend died. In central New York, it plays games and music for 92-year-old Marie Broadbent, who is blind and in hospice, and in Washington state, it helps 83-year-old Jan Worrell make new friends.

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