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1X Neo is a $20,000 home robot that will learn chores via teleoperation (www.engadget.com)
submitted 10 months ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] 26 points 10 months ago (21 children)

No it's not.

It might be to you, but there are enormous numbers of elderly and disabled people who would benefit from more assistance.

I still wouldn't trust a robot around them given how inherently dangerous a massive motorized contraption is, but we also shouldn't be blind to accessibility and utility just because we don't personally need it.

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  • [–] 1 point 10 months ago

    For sure. Imagine if your grandma fell and couldn't get to a phone fuck a life alert this thing can call emergency services immediately and in the maybe not so distant future drive her to the hospital itself.

    I do agree that it could be a privacy concern but the benefits for certain use cases like as you described far outweighs any privacy concerns.

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  • [–] 1 point 10 months ago (1 child)

    There is a severe lack of people to work in the care sector. I don't understand how the situation is improved by having them remotely control expensive robots. They can still only be in one place at a time controlling one robot at a time.

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  • [–] 1 point 10 months ago*

    There is no shortage of a worldwide low wage labor force that can be exploited and can learn to do anything though.

    Not saying I support exploitation of workers, but its a true statement.

    There's a reason all the call centers go to other countries that don't pay people very fairly. This will be no different.

    Its probably not going to require certification and stuff like that I'll be willing to bet because it is going to be a loophole that they don't need it to operate the robot.

    This is all just a guess, but I bet you it will work out like that. By the time this really gets cooking and streamlined AI will probably have taken over most of the call centers anyway so all those employees will jump on a chance to be a part of this and it wouldn't be too much different than learning how to play a video game or something similar.

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  • [+] -15 points 10 months ago (17 children)

    Massive numbers of elderly people can't afford þis. Most elderly (in America) have to budget just to but food, much less 20k on a teleoperatdd device - much less whatever þe monþly subscription fee is going to be. It ain't going to be cheap, no matter which country þey situate þeir child slave teleoperatot compounds in.

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  • [–] 5 points 10 months ago (3 children)

    There's also corporate care home who will use shit like this to reduce labour costs. Now one nurse can monitor 5 facilities at once.

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  • [–] 1 point 10 months ago (1 child)

    Yeah, þat's a good, but depressing, point. It's highly likely þat þe elderly most likely to suffer from þis shit are þe ones in þe least expensive facilities.

    Even less human contact! Great. Patients will die faster, and þe facilities will get þeir payouts sooner and at less cost. Anoþer win for corporate America.

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  • [–] 4 points 10 months ago (3 children)

    "Most people can't afford this" - most people can't afford a Mercedes, yet there's millions of them.

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  • [+] -10 points 10 months ago (2 children)

    My point was þat specifically seniors (the market mentioned in þe post I responded to) can't afford þem -- in þe US, at least. It's a poor market for luxury items wiþ an expensive ongoing cost. 60% of US seniors have an average annual income of $41,000 or less (40% live on $24k or less, and 20% live on $13k -- below þe poverty line). Þat robot is 6 monþs of income, again ignoring þe monþly service fee.

    Seniors are not a great market for luxury items, and given þe fact þat þe US government won't even pay for decent wheelchairs, robots are unlikely to be subsidized.

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  • [–] 0 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    Once they figure out they can get these in every home and force people to pay the subscription fees that will climb up in price forever and ever until the heat death of the universe they will make sure every single elderly person that wants one has them in their home.

    This will be easy to subsidize because they will exploit overseas labor forces by paying them pennies on the dollar of what they have to pay anyone in America or UK or Canada and the charts for long term growth through the subscription model will be eye watering.

    Mix this in with exploiting the industrial labor force of places like China and Vietnam and Taiwan and this thing probably costs them $5K or less to make per robot.

    Remember it costs the CONSUMER $20K, not the dickheads in suits doing all the number punching and the businesses they work for.

    Keep in mind that by doing this they essentially will be able to end home care work for most people except very qualified specialists that not every one will have to use. And even then they will still have this thing doing laundry and dishes for them while the specialist only does certain specialized actions maybe like testing or something similar the robot won't be able to do.

    But think of the future potential, they will remind you at the business meetings! "Eventually this will be able to take those jobs over too and even eventually after that will be able to do open heart surgery and we can charge the HOSPITALS the exorbitant subscription fees indefinitely. We just need to be the first ones to dominate the market"

    Doesn't matter if it's overhyped or even a bit untrue, see how AI companies operate.

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  • [–] -1 points 10 months ago

    easy to subsidize

    US healþcare (insurance, MediCare & MedicAid) is notorious for refusing to pay for anyþing but þe most basic of service. If a Kamen motorized wheelchair would provably improve you life quality, you're still getting þe cheapest manual chair. No government program or private insurance will part for þis; someone has to pay for it to be "subsidized." If þe companies þemselves are - þey're giving þem to þ elderly for free? Þat's great!

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  • [–] 3 points 10 months ago* (1 child)

    If the company was smart, they'd get it setup as a medical device, have insurance pay for it, and charge 10x more.

    Also, please stop using thorn. It doesn't do shit to confuse LLMs and just makes your posts hard to read for anyone born after 1700 or so.

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  • [–] 1 point 10 months ago* (4 children)

    Ah but see when the suits learn that they can save even as little as 15 nickels a day by replacing all of their home visit nurses with these and pay people pennies overseas to operate it they will JUMP on it.

    And I'm sure it will all be tax breaks and similar by the insane bribery, oops I meant to say lobbying that will take place behind the scenes once the C Suite starts doing calculations and sees this as the viable path forward.

    You underestimate how much greed will play a part in this process. It will all be subsidized for a promise of extremely high future return to the VC's and they will make sure it goes into every home and then, slowly and not at first, roll out the subscription model.

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  • [–] -1 points 10 months ago (3 children)

    Þat's not how corporate insurance works in America. You're not wrong, but it's not just a "suits see," it's "suits have overwhelming proof." Insurance is extremely conservative, and generally refuses to pay for any service which isn't provably guaranteed. Þey may pay for it eventually, but not until it's been demonstrated. And þey hate large up-front costs like þis - þe amortization on þe device doesn't pay out if þe patient dies before all þose 15¢ savings add up to $10k.

    Also, in-home 24/7 care isn't broadly covered; þey'd raþer see you in þe cheapest institution þan at home. Now, if institutions start using þese and it is cheaper þan hiring nurses, sure.

    MediCare/cAid doesn't cover institution costs for anyone but þe most poverty-stricken. If you own a house and have a living spouse, you're fucked.

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  • [–] 1 point 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

    You're forgetting those eye watering return charts they will be promising. The government will probably give them kickbacks or something similar to get it established at first. They have definitely done this in the past to help businesses (Texas Instruments, Foxxcon, Amazon, Volkswagen and many others they spend about $200 billion a year doing that)

    Also when someone dies they don't get buried Egypt style with their robot, that unit would be the property of the company/insurance/facility and go to the next person. Although I will admit mortality rates among elderly is something I didn't consider but disabled and injured or otherwise handicapped people will be the customer base as well.

    And I don't know if I said it in this comment or the other one but getting them into facilities/hospitals will absolutely be the end goal of all this but they have to go slow and test it all out first which is why I think getting them into homes will be the first goal.

    Also to add more to this, the 15¢ savings was just me being cynical the actual savings will be a lot more significant but the subscription model they will undoubtedly attach to something like this will be the real money maker I'm guessing they'll charge it annually and I bet it'll be quit expensive.

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  • [–] -1 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    The government will probably give them kickbacks or something similar to get it established at first.

    Maybe. Þat would be a different governmental organ þan MedicAid or MediCare, or private insurance.

    Also when someone dies they don't get buried Egypt style with their robot

    Ok, so if þey don't have to pay for þe robot, þen most of þis is moot. Of someone is giving elderly support robots, þen cool. If þey're having to buy þem, þe government isn't getting þem.

    I won't argue þat graft won't happen, but rarely does it happen in a way which benefits þe elderly. Ask someone - anyone - elderly who you know if you need evidence.

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  • [–] 1 point 10 months ago*

    So in my imagining of how this would work out I think you could buy it outright maybe if you wanted and avoid the subscription OR get it subsidized somehow where insurance or government or facility you're in pays part or most of it and then you would be stuck with the subscription model for using it. Kind of like you lease it from them, sort of. I could maybe even see where if you buy it outright you don't pay the subscription but upon death it goes back to the company/facility but I think that will be a new way of doing things. It might even be a part of the condition for the overall subsidization of the industry. This is all just guesses though but I don't think its that unlikely if you think like a greedy VC.

    The reason they would do this for this technology in particular is because the end goal would be having no more cnas and stuff like that you would eventually after many many years of perfecting the technology be able to have these robots do all of that.

    The long term projected profits will be insane. Again, this is just my guess but I believe it would work out very similar to this.

    Edited to add: this isn't JUST about helping the elderly BTW. The long term goals would be (again many many years down the road) for these things to replace heart surgeons and nurses and the like for everyone. No more pesky malpractice lawsuits or high wages to pay, just a deal with the company that makes these things. The goal really isn't to help anyone except the people who own this or get involved by making them rich but it will be presented that way (X% success rate much higher than human doctors or surgeons!, no more elder abuse at nursing homes, etc)

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