FRIEND IN THE MACHINE: IS AN ARTIFICIAL COMPANION A SUBSTITUTE FOR A REAL ONE?

Can a robot be a true friend? Are we lonely enough to consider relationships with machines? How do we deal with a rapidly ageing population and fewer resources to care for our loved ones? What is companionship and can a machine be a substitute for a human companion? Second in a quadrilogy of short films exploring topical issues within the field of artificial intelligence - Friend in the Machine presents fascinating insights from academia and industry about the world of companion robots and asks what it means to be human in an age of nearly human machines.