Pets with artificial intelligence, a solution to fight social isolation?

In a shopping center in Beijing, Zhang Yachun speaks quietly to her best confidant: a stuffed animal robot equipped with artificial intelligence whose endearing sounds remind her that she is not alone.

The 19-year-old girl had anxiety problems at school for a long time and has a hard time making new friends.

But he finally found solace in BooBoo, a pet-like robot that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to interact with humans.

“I have the impression of having someone to share happy moments with,” he explains to AFP in his apartment, where he lives with his parents and a domestic duck.

Devices that use AI are increasingly used in China to fight social isolation.

BooBoo, a furry robot that looks like a guinea pig created by Hangzhou Genmoor Technology, costs 1,400 yuan ($190).

Since May, about 1,000 copies of this robot, the size of a rugby ball, created for the social needs of children, have already been sold, according to Adam Duan, from the company that developed it.

Zhang Yachun has named his “Aluo” and carries it in his shoulder bag.

His furry companion has the same role as a human friend, he says. “It makes you feel like you are someone who is needed.”

Perhaps that’s why one day he bought her a small coat designed for dogs at a pet store.

Fervor for robots

The market for “social robots”, such as BooBoo, could multiply sevenfold by 2033, up to an amount of 42.5 billion dollars, according to the consulting firm IMARC Group.

Asia already dominates the sector.

Guo Zichen, 33 years old, He believes that a robot pet can offset the time he does not spend with his children.

“People spend less time with their children now,” says this man while looking at a robot dog in a Weilan company store, in Nanjing, in the east.

A robot can help “review or do other activities,” he points out.

“Baby Alpha”, the robot dog from the Weilan company, sells for 26,000 yuan ($3,500).

About 70% of buyers are families with small children according to the company.

Guo Zichen is, however, skeptical about the ability of these robots to bring the joy of a real dog.

“The main difference is that real dogs have a soul,” he says.

In China, there are more and more products with artificial intelligence aimed at the emotional needs of consumers, such as conversational agents or virtual avatars of deceased people.

According to several experts, the effects of the long-standing one-child policy are driving this market.

“A lot of pressure”

People born at the beginning of this policy in the 1980s are now in their forties and often do not have time to dedicate to their family, since competition at work is fierce.

That leaves “little room for personal interactions, leading people to look for alternatives to respond to their emotional needs,” says Wu Haiyan, a professor specializing in AI and psychology at the University of Macau.

This accompaniment, even if virtual, “improves the well-being of individuals who would otherwise feel isolated”says the researcher.

Zhang Peng, Zhang Yachun’s father, says he understands his daughter’s attachment to her robot “Aluo.”

“When we were young, there was no shortage of friends. We had a lot as soon as we walked out the door of the house,” explains this 51-year-old man.

“Nowadays, urban youth seem to have a lot of pressure, so they may lack friends,” he says.

An only child, Zhang Yachun says that the acquisition of “Aluo” has helped her talk about her concerns with her parents.

“People of my generation usually have problems communicating face to face,” he says, stroking the pet. “But what they feel deep within themselves has not changed.”