this post was submitted on 16 Apr 2025
1094 points (98.8% liked)
Not The Onion
15954 readers
1179 users here now
Welcome
We're not The Onion! Not affiliated with them in any way! Not operated by them in any way! All the news here is real!
The Rules
Posts must be:
- Links to news stories from...
- ...credible sources, with...
- ...their original headlines, that...
- ...would make people who see the headline think, “That has got to be a story from The Onion, America’s Finest News Source.”
Please also avoid duplicates.
Comments and post content must abide by the server rules for Lemmy.world and generally abstain from trollish, bigoted, or otherwise disruptive behavior that makes this community less fun for everyone.
And that’s basically it!
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Caring for the elderly is unfortunately a very small piece of the pie. A small number of CNA can handle a pretty decent number of elderly, in a facility.
Of course, we (corporate) stretch those CNA as thin as possible.
Automation in every industry that we're so worried about being our undoing will soften the blow.
It's possible that nanny bots could eventually help ease daycare costs.
Problematically anytime somebody creates something that reduces financial cost for someone else, They usually end up charging them significant amounts for it. Those inexpensive elderly care robots will end up being subscriptions and have planned obsolescence. Everybody's got to get a piece of that pie.
Do you have numbers for that? Because staffing is already very short and the ratio of workers to people needing care will get much higher. And a lot of them will want to stay in their home, which needs a much higher amount of care than in a centralized facility.
Sure!
Depends on what you're looking for capability-wise.
DME pill dispenser that notifies family if they're not taking the glass off the platform is a couple of grand and available now. It's like $100 worth of parts. Of course, you can have it for less upfront by paying a perpetual subscription fee.
But helping them walk, Helping them get up, even if steps aren't involved, that's a way higher price tag, we're looking at something Atlas or ASIMO class, you're looking at 1-2 million for the hardware and basic functionality. Tacking on insurance because they will be sued when someone slips and a decade or so of r&d in hospice and homecare. I don't think we're likely to see anything affordable in 1-2 generations.
Japan is leading the charge in looking at this because it's being hit hard by population decline. This will be in their face shortly. They have bots that can drive around and talk to people and can report on people in distress. Those are more car-priced. They're not going to help anyone walk, but they can provide companionship, which isn't nothing.
With lifespans advancing and birthrates dropping, you can be sure that they'll be moving as fast as they can. Even if the hardware becomes affordable, they'll charge as much as the market will bear. Look at the price for senior care. They own the building, and they're understaffing the facilities as much as possible. Slumlording as a service.