Exploring Photo-Based Dialogue Between Elderly Individuals and Generative AI Agents

Japan's rapid transition into a super-aged society, with 29% of its population aged 65 and over, underscores the urgent need for innovative elderly care solutions. This study explores the use of generative AI to facilitate meaningful interactions between elderly individuals and AI conversational agents using photos. Utilizing Microsoft Azure's AI services, including Computer Vision and Speech, the AI agent analyzes photos to generate engaging conversation prompts, leveraging GPT-3.5-turbo for natural language processing. Preliminary experiments with healthy elderly participants provided insights to refine the AI agent's conversational skills, focusing on timing, speech speed, and emotional engagement. The findings indicate that elderly users respond positively to AI agents that exhibit human-like conversational behaviors, such as attentiveness and expressive communication. By addressing functional and emotional needs, the AI agent aims to enhance the quality of life for the elderly, offering scalable solutions to the challenges of an aging society. Future work will focus on further improving the AI agent's ca-pabilities and assessing its impact on the mental health and so-cial engagement of elderly users.