My dad has Type 2 diabetes. Living alone, my dad had no one to talk to or work out with, and it broke my heart to see him fight his battles in isolation. So I thought what if there is a buddy, who is friendly, expert companion in weight loss and diabetes management that checks in on you every day, offers personalized advice, and keeps him accountable. Basically, a workout and wellness buddy he can talk to anytime. I built it in weeks using ChatGPT just for him and my dad’s been using it. He says he is really enjoying it, but I’m still unsure if it’s truly making a difference for him or if he’s just being supportive. That’s why I wanted to ask other solo fighters. Do you think this AI buddy sounds helpful? I truly want to built something for my dad that truly helps him. I’d love to hear your thoughts and any ideas.
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Does your father know that he’s talking to a computer with no human being behind it?
Why not suggest he get on something like Reddit, join some communities, and make friends there?
Giving him a robot buddy is kind of weird. I would really hate it, it’s not a real friendship.
You are very thoughtful to consider your father and his needs. An AI companion could be great for things like med, meal, and monitoring reminders. It could prompt him to exercise and even provide work-out ideas. It could offer meal planning and recipes. It can offer encouraging statements on the hard days, etc. but no matter how well-built an AI companion is, it is never going to be a substitute for actual human connection.
To go back to your subject question though—I am fairly young in the grand scheme of type II diabetes and have it well controlled but my biggest struggle/ fear is that I will experience a severe low or other complication (such as a stroke or heart attack) and no one will be there to help me. The solution for this might be something like a LifeLine monitor or, if he is on a CGM, the LibreLink app or similar that could alert a caring family member of extremes in blood sugar so they can intervene if he can’t.
A friend of mine has a thing called Dexascan(?). He has it programmed to sound an alarm when his blood sugar is too low or too high. Really neat gadget!