There’s a standard human tendency to exaggerate supposedly “human” traits and forget about real-world complexities. While it may seem at first blush to be obvious that humans will have more rich and meaningful interactions with elderly patients, the reality is more subtle and complex. In many cases human care-givers start out with good intentions but quickly become emotionally fatigued. At this point they interact less, and less well, with their patients. Later they see the patients as nuisances to be scorned and wherever possible avoided. Robots don’t feel emotional fatigue and can provide consistent interactions for months or even years.

When we unconsciously romanticize “human” traits we forget how frail we are emotionally and intellectually, and how prone to failure we are. When assessing new possibilities it is important to have a clear understanding of real-world human behaviors rather than merely relying on what we assume, or would like, to be the case.