Can A.I. Make People Feel Less Lonely?

Description

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 (https://www.nytimes.com/by/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 (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/us/elliq-ai-robot-senior-companion.html) ? Photo: Ruth Fremson/The New York Times For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily (http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily) . Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts (http://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.