A human being longs to be with other people – but could a robot contribute in fulfilling this need? Sander Burger’s documentary explores a Dutch pilot project in which Alice, advice an emotionally intelligent robot, serves as a companion for three lonely and partially demented elderly people.
In developed countries, the relative number of elderly people is growing constantly and researchers are looking for new ways to lighten the burden of care personnel for the older generation. Alice is one of the possible answers, but utilizing technology to meet the social needs of human beings raises many intriguing ethical questions. Can you really replace human contact with a robot? Can you empathize with technology?
Alice is a small robot with a friendly doll face, and at this stage of the development it cannot walk yet. But Alice’s eyes follow her elderly companions and record their meetings, letting the audience see how a social connection between a human and a robot can actually be established.
Mia Ojapalo / Translation: Sanna Parikka
Language: Dutch
Subtitles: English
- Director: Sander Burger
- Country: Netherlands
- Year: 2015
- Length: 79 min
- Age limit: S
- Format: DCP
- Cinematography: Sal Kroonenberg
- Editing: Manuel Rombley
- Audio: Taco Drijfhout
- Production: Janneke Doolaard/KeyDocs
Showtimes:
- Cinema Artis hall 1: Friday 29.01 - 11:00 / Senior Screen
- Cinema Artis hall 1: Sunday 31.01 - 14:00