“ChatGPT is the hot topic of the day. But it’s only one example of AI systems; there are lots more,” says Professor Whittle. Other popular chatbots are Google Bard and Microsoft Bing. But AI can also extend to driverless cars, virtual assistants like Siri or Alexa, and smart home devices. “AI is being used as a tool to revolutionise everything from healthcare to music, sport, and space exploration,” he says. POPULAR HOME USES FOR CHATGPT Health management : Assisting with health-related queries, though as both our experts Professor Whittle and Dr Neves caution, it’s not a substitute for profes - sional medical advice. Engaging conversation: Adopting personality traits or mimicking famous personas and carrying on conversations in that style. Writing assistance: Crafting anything from eulogies to complaint letters, or even bespoke stories using real names of grand - children, their friends and pets. Personalised suggestions: Whether gift ideas, book or movie recommenda - tions, ChatGPT can tailor suggestions to personal preferences. Work-related: Helping refine CVs, cover letters and prep for interviews based on specific job requirements.
Robots powered by AI are already used in aged care homes and can do everything from keeping residents company to reminding them
to take their medication.
Tech troubleshooting: Assisting with tech - nology issues, from computer problems to setting up smart home devices, using easy-to-understand language. Document explanation: Demystifying complex documents, flagging any poten - tially problematic clauses. Education: Whether it’s brushing up on world history, learning about new scien - tific discoveries, or exploring literature, ChatGPT can serve as an interactive learning tool. Hobbies and entertainment: Suggesting new hobbies based on current interests and can even join in for a game or two, although ChatGPT has been known to cheat at chess!
Travel planning: Providing information about different destinations based on preferences and offering itineraries or planning tips. Food and recipes : Suggesting a variety of recipes tailored to tastes, nutritional needs or dietary preferences, using ingredients already in your fridge or pantry. IMPACT ON AGED CARE One domain ripe with possibilities for AI applications is aged care. Developers envis - age soon we will have assistance robots that can chat to residents over the course of the day, relay things like meal choices and dietary requirements to the kitchen, keep tabs on how they are feeling, remind them to take medication, and then have a three-way conversation with the resident and carers or family. “AI-based virtual assistants are already being used in aged care homes to read news or stories, provide medication reminders, recommend activities and play games,” Dr Neves notes. She says there is an ‘AI race’ to inte - grate ChatGPT into robots to create virtual companions for seniors, with the ability to respond to mood queries and ask about interests for conversational purposes and emotional support. However, she warns against seeing AI as a magic fix and stresses that technol - ogy should not replace human care. “We
BY THE NUMBERS: BIGGEST TECH MYTHS ABOUT RETIREES The Australian Seniors Series: Quality of Life Report 2022 finds…
65% of over 50s surveyed say it’s a myth that retirees struggle with technology
57% say it’s not true that retirees lack knowledge to address the modern world
58% reject the idea
that retirees have a hard time learning new things
To see the full results of The Australian Seniors Series: Quality of Life Report 2022, go to seniors.com.au and search ‘quality of life’.
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