Can artificial intelligence fight elderly loneliness?

"I thought at first it was a sign of insanity, speaking to a little thing like that and him talking back!" says 92-year-old John Winward of the first time he tested a smart speaker. The former head teacher was one of a group of residents at an elderly care home in Bournemouth, England who recently took part in a half-year academic experiment designed to test if artificial intelligence voice technologies could help tackle loneliness. He was a fast convert. "I was so surprised... it was such fun!" he says, explaining that several months later he remains an active user of his Google Home device. He asks the speaker for news and weather updates, music and audio book tips and crossword puzzle clues.