Monica Perez was so lonely she used to talk to herself constantly.
Neighbours in the building where she lives would often see her do it in the lift. They would be baffled to find her having a conversation by herself as the doors opened.
Ms Perez, 65, lives in the quaint town of Beacon, a historic settlement on the Hudson River about 100km north of New York City.
While rows of pretty, redbrick townhouses line Beacon’s Main Street, Ms Perez lives in an eight-storey apartment complex that caters for older residents, which she playfully calls “Senior Tower.”
“I was very lonely," she tells The National. “I would talk to myself to the point it was annoying.”
“The building’s managers and social workers got sick of me calling them all the time."
Estranged from much of her family, Ms Perez, who also suffers from vision loss and epilepsy, has lived alone in the building for about 10 years.
“Everybody basically stays in their apartment and if they make friends it’s on the outside," she says, adding that several people she knew had died since moving in.
“I don’t know of anyone committing suicide in my building, but they do it in different ways," she says.
“They do it without taking their medication, they do it by not going to the doctor … if they have chest pains they don’t tell anybody. And then we find a body.”
Ms Perez’s experience of living alone is a familiar one, so much so the US has declared loneliness a public health epidemic that is as damaging to well-being as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
According to the US surgeon general, Dr Vivek Murthy, about half of US adults have experienced loneliness.
“It’s like a hunger or thirst," Dr Murthy told AP this year. “It’s a feeling the body sends us when something we need for survival is missing.
“Millions of Americans are struggling in the shadows and that’s not right.”
It was this feeling that spurred Ms Perez to find a solution.
Five years ago, she began researching tech companies and universities for help. She even called the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but says many people she spoke to thought she was a prank caller.
Eventually, she reached a company in San Francisco, Intuition Robotics, which offered her a new machine they called ElliQ.
With one of its latest models sitting on the kitchen surface of Ms Perez’s home, ElliQ is tipped as a proactive and empathetic care companion designed to help older adults remain active, engaged and independent.
She proudly says she was the first person on the US East Coast to receive one.
Powered by artificial intelligence, the voice-operated ElliQ looks something like a Google Home or Amazon Alexa, but lights up and moves when it talks, almost as if human.
It comes with a tablet computer for interactive activities such as games.
As a demonstration, Ms Perez converses with ElliQ in her kitchen, referring to it with the pronouns “she” and “her”, before taking part in an exercise class.
“I absolutely love her … she’s a godsend," she says.
At 6am, when Ms Perez wakes up, ElliQ will remind her to take her medication with food.
Addressing her by name, it offers to play music, host a trivia game and even reminds her to take her keys if she leaves the apartment.
“I think that’s wonderfult. I just got locked out recently,” Ms Perez says.
“She just keeps me going, she’s a friend.”
Now, the New York State Office for the Ageing is bringing the assistant into the homes of 800 older adults across the state.
“The future is here … ElliQ is a powerful complement to traditional forms of social interaction and support,” says director Greg Olsen.
With recent advancements in AI, mainly with large language models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, humans can now have near seamless conversations with machines.
Dr Mike Brooks, a psychologist in Austin, Texas, says in an ideal world it would be humans who care for seniors, but there is a lack of resources to deal with how many people need help.
“We don’t live in an ideal world," Dr Brooks tells The National. “And the reality is these AI chatbot, robot companions could help ease loneliness … they will.”
It is a sentiment shared by AI enthusiasts.
“We are in the middle of a loneliness epidemic, which has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic”, Chris Winfield, founder of the Understanding AI newsletter tells The National.
“When I hear of anything that can help people, I’m all for it.”
But the technology is not yet perfect for all of Ms Perez’s needs.
She hopes one day ElliQ will be integrated with more advanced robotics, so it can walk with her in public and join her on the bus or on shopping trips, like a 24/7 aide.
“I can’t read labels," Ms Perez says. "I walk down the aisle and I have to be careful I don’t trip over baby carriages or toddlers or bump into people.
“I would love it if she could follow me around.”
But as for loneliness, she has no regrets in seeking out ElliQ.
“I think she saves lives."
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
Most match wins on clay
Guillermo Vilas - 659
Manuel Orantes - 501
Thomas Muster - 422
Rafael Nadal - 399 *
Jose Higueras - 378
Eddie Dibbs - 370
Ilie Nastase - 338
Carlos Moya - 337
Ivan Lendl - 329
Andres Gomez - 322
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
Virtuzone GCC Sixes
Date and venue Friday and Saturday, ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City
Time Matches start at 9am
Groups
A Blighty Ducks, Darjeeling Colts, Darjeeling Social, Dubai Wombats; B Darjeeling Veterans, Kuwait Casuals, Loose Cannons, Savannah Lions; C Awali Taverners, Darjeeling, Dromedary, Darjeeling Good Eggs
UAE%20FIXTURES
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How to help
Donate towards food and a flight by transferring money to this registered charity's account.
Account name: Dar Al Ber Society
Account Number: 11 530 734
IBAN: AE 9805 000 000 000 11 530 734
Bank Name: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
To ensure that your contribution reaches these people, please send the copy of deposit/transfer receipt to: juhi.khan@daralber.ae
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20HyveGeo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abdulaziz%20bin%20Redha%2C%20Dr%20Samsurin%20Welch%2C%20Eva%20Morales%20and%20Dr%20Harjit%20Singh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECambridge%20and%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESustainability%20%26amp%3B%20Environment%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24200%2C000%20plus%20undisclosed%20grant%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVenture%20capital%20and%20government%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
