After Tony’s wife died, days would go by without him speaking to anyone. Then he got a live-in AI robot called ElliQ. It chats to him, plays games with him and reminds him to eat and exercise. Since ElliQ arrived, Tony has been much less lonely.

In this episode: policymakers are trialling AI companions to help tackle loneliness among elderly and vulnerable populations. But can machines really replace human company? And are we outsourcing care for marginalised communities to robots?

Featuring Anthony Niemiec, Anh Hee Soon, Ki Kyung-eun, Greg Olsen, director of New York State Office for the Aging, and Caroline Green, director of research at the University of Oxford’s Institute for Ethics in AI.

Check out some of the FT’s reporting on this subject on FT.com:

The reality of chatbot-induced delusions

Can ChatGPT help with a midlife crisis?

The problem with AI and ‘empathy’

Artificial Intimacy is presented by Cristina Criddle and produced by Persis Love and Edwin Lane. Additional reporting and production by Jen Kwon and Michela Tindera. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Sound design is by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Artificial intimacy: Prescribing robots to combat loneliness