Can A.I. Make People Feel Less Lonely?

For years, caretakers and health officials have been raising alarms about loneliness and social isolation among older Americans. Eli Saslow, a reporter at The New York Times, tells the story of one woman who is using artificial intelligence to keep her independence, and to keep her company. Guest: Eli Saslow, a reporter for The New York Times who writes in-depth stories about the impact of major national issues on people’s lives. Background reading: At 85, Jan Worrell lived alone on a remote corner of the Washington coast. Could a robot become her companion? Photo: Ruth Fremson/The New York Times For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.