Robot Eldercare Is Not Going According to Plan

James Wright's "Robots Won't Save Japan" Explains Why

A robot in a nursing home, as imaged by Stable Diffusion.

Consider a nursing home, where elderly residents get different levels and types of care. You might see it as a sad but necessary place, and hope it's run with kindness. But an economist will see it as a dead end. That's because workers who tend to the residents earn low wages and don't learn new skills or move up to better-paying industries. And the unpaid hours that family members devote to their aged relatives are hours not spent on working for wages or starting businesses.

Now, imagine this place after it has delegated some care work to robots – like ElliQ or Robear or Retriever Pro or Aeo or Stevie or Paro. Teams of technologists designed those devices for eldercare. Then the machines needed to be trialled, purchased, installed and maintained. Someone had to train staff to use them. All this  work will continue for years. That creates jobs, of the sort politicians and voters like: high-tech, well-paying, skill-imparting.

This …