An AI startup promises to call your elderly parents for you if you don’t have time, or simply don’t want to, and we tested out the service.
Called inTouch, the service uses an AI generated voice so your parent receives a phone call in which they can talk to the AI about, for example, how their day is going, their hobbies, and how they’re feeling. An AI-generated summary of the conversation is then sent to the child or whoever setup the account, and includes a visual indicator of their state of mind, such as “bad mood” or “neutral mood.”
Obviously, the idea of having an AI call your lonely relative because you can’t or don’t feel like it is dystopian, insulting, and especially non-human, even more so than other AI-based creations. The creator, though, says it can provide a way to keep in touch with relatives and make sure they’re safe.