Can Voice-Activated Personal Assistants Improve Older People's Quality of Life? 

Alexa, "What will the weather be like today? 

Hey Siri, "What grocery stores are closest to where I live? 

Alexa, "Can you play a game?" 

Hey Siri, "Can you play songs by Frank Sinatra? 

Alexa, "How did the stock market perform today?" 

Hey Google, "Add my doctor's appointment to my calendar?" 

Alexa, "Where is the nearest emergency health center located?" 

Hi Bixbi, "What are the symptoms of a heart attack or stroke?" 

 "Hey Google, "Hey Siri," Hi Bixby, and "Alexa" have become familiar salutations that activate what we call "personal assistants," "personal voice assistants," or "digital assistants." Voicing these greetings triggers responses to questions or commands like those above. 

These "personal assistants" are far from human. Rather, they are sophisticated software programs powered by artificial intelligence (AI). They are embedded in our smartphones, iPads, computers, and, more recently, smart speakers.  

They can understand people's spoken queries and respond in an easy-to-understand, human-like conversational manner. This is possible because they have advanced natural language processing and interpretation abilities. They also learn from our past interactions, which enables them to provide even more personalized responses to our inquiries. 

These communication devices are becoming widely available. By 2024, the number of personal assistants in use worldwide is estimated to reach a whopping 8.4 billion units.  

How Can Older People Benefit From These Personal Assistants? 

These personal assistants can help older people access information from the Internet, perform everyday chores and tasks, and enjoy social and entertaining activities. They can help homes become more enjoyable places to live, and support people in feeling more independent and in control of their lives. 

The large technology companies Amazon, Apple, Google, and Samsung have produced the most popular versions of these personal assistants. Though they have different and continually changing capabilities, here is just a sampling of how they can benefit older users. 

•  Become more knowledgeable about health and medical topics. 

• Manage health behaviors:  reminders to get vaccinated and doctor appointments.  

• Communicate with personal alert/emergency systems (e.g., fall detection devices). 

• Get weather alerts. 

• Help manage calendars, make appointments, and provide reminders (alarms, timers). 

• Control a home's smart devices or appliances (door locks, thermostats, lighting fixtures, and kitchen appliances).  

• Get reminders such as turning off stoves, wake-up calls, and taking medications.  

• Make shopping lists. 

• Find music and podcasts. 

• Hear jokes and play games. 

• Listen to the news. 

• Conduct online shopping and confirm refunds after returning merchandise. 

• Send messages to friends and loved ones. 

• Function as social companions. 

Two Ways of Communicating with Personal Assistants:  How to Get Answers 

There are two distinctive ways that older people can access these personal assistants. 

The first is by speaking salutations to the personal assistants on their smartphones, tablets, and computers. A small, colorful icon at the bottom of the screen will then await their queries. To successfully do this, however, requires competent motor and visual skills--turning the devices on, using a keyboard, tapping/swiping a screen, icon, or button, or manipulating a mouse.    

Alternatively, older people can get answers to their queries by activating the personal assistant (e.g., "Hey Siri," "Alexa") found in their WiFi-connected smart speakers. These relatively small and affordable devices are typically shaped like bagels, balls, nests, or coffee cans. The most common are the Amazon Echo,  Amazon Echo Dot, Google Nest Mini, Apple HomePod, and Sonos Era.  

Because they are voice-enabled and have hands-free operation, many experts believe that communicating with smart speakers is easier and more pleasurable for older people with arthritis, vision problems, and mobility limitations. As well, once set up, these devices are always "on"—allowing older people activate and speak to them anytime—day or night—in the privacy of their homes. 

The Many Possible Looks and Sounds of the "Body" of Personal Assistants 

Today,  we embed personal assistants in smart speakers that unmistakably look—well—like ordinary speakers. However, the possible physical "bodies" of these communication devices are unlimited. For example, speakers can take the form of small pet-like animals such as seals, dogs, and bears (e.g., Paro the seal, Aibo the robotic dog, and Huggable, the teddy bear.) Alternatively, the physical "bodies" housing a speaker might look like a miniature, friendly, human-like robot (for example like Bono the robot). 

The quality of the voice coming from the "body" of the personal assistant also can matter— its sexual identity, softness, dialect, and human-like attributes may have different appeal. 

What "Personal Assistants" Have Going For Them 

Older people often like communicating with these personal assistants—particularly directing their questions and commands to their smart speakers. They can ask the most embarrassing, personal, or crazy questions in the privacy of their own homes. These devices do not judge their behaviors, allowing older people to not feel that they are being patronized or manipulated. It can be one of the least intimidating ways to get information. 

The future capabilities of personal assistants are even more promising. They may become more receptive to older people's feelings because of new "emotional intelligence" features. This will make possible more sympathetic and sensitive responses to their queries.  

Operating Concerns 

However, not all older people will be enthusiastic users. They feel that the downsides of operating these devices outweigh their benefits, even the easier-to-use voice-activated standalone speakers.  

Not having assistance to set up these devices is a significant deterrent. Older people need to have a working and reliable WiFi connection in their homes and sufficient "digital literacy and self-confidence" to install. The smart speaker also works best when it can "talk to" a personal assistant app/icon operating on their smartphones, tablets, or computers. Then, it can access information from these devices, such as their address books, calendars, telephone numbers, and music playlists.  

The possibility of unreliable internet connections may also turn some older people off. After a short-term outage, they worry about the challenges of reconnecting. 

They are also concerned about becoming overly dependent on personal assistants to accomplish everyday activities. What happens, they ask, if the technology fails for an extended period? 

Older people may also require guidance in formulating questions or commands (queries) that are understandable to their personal assistants. Forgetting the "wake" or activation name (e.g., Alexa or Hey Siri) may also be an issue. And, personal assistants may have trouble comprehending older people with accents or have difficulty articulating. 

Older people may also misinterpret the information they receive, especially if they are hard of hearing. Additionally, even as their artificial intelligence capabilities continually improve, no guarantees exist that the personal assistants will offer complete or accurate answers. 

Privacy Concerns Are An Issue For Many  

Older people also worry about violations of their privacy. They get troubled about "strangers" possibly "listening" to their conversations even when they have not activated their personal assistants. 

They also point to the prospects of unscrupulous outsiders exploiting the vulnerabilities they reveal about themselves.  

A Viable Technological Solution? 

As older people are increasingly open to becoming tech users, reducing the young-old digital divide, these voice-activated devices are one promising technological solution to improve their well-being.  

However, if we want this technology to be successfully adopted and utilized, we need to ensure that support is available to help them set up and use these personal assistants and alleviate any fears they may have.