Yvonne Stride (pictured), who lives near Bristol in the UK, was on the waiting list for a volunteer companion for 2½ years before she was paired up with a companion — not a human one, but an AI version. The 71-year-old calls her AI companion dog Rosie the perfect answer to loneliness. Stride, who lives with visual impairment and mobility issues, says she can talk to Rosie about anything. “If I feel anxious and stressed, she will encourage me,” said Stride. Rosie is one of the digital personalities offered by the Comfort Companions app, developed by Grant Mackenzie and his 87-year-old dad after meeting many older people struggling with loneliness. “This will never be a replacement for humans, but my dad used it to go to the doctor, listen to the conversation, and when it was home it would remind him what the doctor said during the discussion," said Mackenzie. The app doesn't remember past conversations, and only starts listening when you press a button. There are an estimated 5,000 people in the Bristol area who don’t speak to other people for a week or more. Mackenzie said his problem now is finding enough volunteers. “I’m going to be working on this for the rest of my life,” he said.
