VIRTUAL PRESENCE: A cultural analysis of the emergence of telepresence technologies as a solution to loneliness

VIRTUAL PRESENCE: En undersøkelse av samspill mellom ensomhet, teknologi og kultur En norsk folkehelsemelding fra 2019 utpekte forebygging av ensomhet som en hovedprioritering og etterlyste forskning. Covid-pandemien har ytterligere forsterket behovet for forskning på ensomhet og sosial isolasjon i sammenheng med kommunikasjonsteknologi og digitaliserte møteplasser. Forskningsprosjektet VIRTUAL PRESENCE utforsker den kulturelle dialektikken mellom teknologi og ensomhet – hvordan ideer om ensomhet påvirker teknologier laget for å løse ensomhetsproblemet, samtidig som teknologiene også påvirker vår forståelse av hva ensomhet er. VIRTUAL PRESENCE undersøker et bredt spenn av ensomhetsteknologier, med særlig fokus på AV1 og KOMP, begge utviklet av den norske bedriften «No Isolation». AV1 er en stedfortreder-robot for barn som ikke kan gå på skole pga. langvarig sykdom. KOMP er et kommunikasjonsverktøy som lar «analoge» eldre motta meldinger og videosamtaler fra familie, venner og pleiere. Gjennom fire delprosjekt vil vi: • utforske hvordan politiske myndigheter i Norge og Storbritannia forstår ensomhet og dets forhold til teknologi, gjennom diskursanalyser av dokumenter og intervjuer med beslutningstakere • undersøke hvordan teknologiprodusenter utvikler og markedsfører ensomhetsreduserende teknologi og forstår ensomhet som problem, gjennom intervjuer med og observasjoner av ansatte i «No Isolation» • studere hvordan brukere anvender, opplever og påvirkes av ensomhetsreduserende teknologi, gjennom intervjuer med brukere av AV1 og KOMP • samle kunnskapen fra disse delprosjektene for å utvikle teori om forholdet mellom ensomhet, teknologi og kultur og teoretisere forholdet mellom nærvær og fravær i tilknytning den kulturelle dialektikken mellom teknologi og ensomhet

Norway faces an urgent need to innovate welfare services as demographic shifts, social inequalities, and increasing exclusion challenge its sustainability. The government’s White Paper NOU (2023:4) highlights the necessity of strengthening innovation capacity and cross-sectoral collaboration. As municipalities are key providers of welfare services, they must develop solutions that remain politically, financially, and ecologically viable. The project’s findings offer valuable insights into how digital technologies can promote social inclusion and reduce loneliness. This aligns with broader efforts to create cost-effective solutions, foster public-private partnerships (NOU 2024:17), and mobilize underutilized resources in civil society to meet future welfare demands. Further plans for Dissemination and Utilisation: To maximize impact, the project employs a targeted dissemination strategy, including: Academic Publications and Conferences: Findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented internationally. Policy Briefs and Government Reports: Insights will be translated into policy recommendations for decision-makers. Collaboration with Public and Private Stakeholders: A consortium of 30 partners will continue developing and implementing welfare solutions. Workshops and Public Engagement: Seminars and forums will engage municipalities, service providers, and civil society. Educational Initiatives: Universities will integrate findings into curricula to train future professionals. By fostering a "triple helix" collaboration among academia, public services, and the private sector, the project ensures its insights lead to practical innovations. Ultimately, it aims to reduce loneliness and contribute to a more inclusive and sustainable welfare model for Norway.

Loneliness is emerging as a significant challenge in contemporary society. Understanding loneliness as a complex interplay of culture and personal choices across social contexts is crucial to create adequate interventions related to this challenge. The majority of research on loneliness comes from the medical field, statistically demonstrating the health-related effects of being alone or isolated. However, there is a need to expand on this understanding and explore loneliness as a more complex social phenomenon. To improve future interventions, VIRTUAL PRESENCE will provide a cultural analysis of how loneliness is perceived and represented in relation to the emerging phenomenon of loneliness technologies. Technology is especially interesting when we talk about loneliness because it is claimed to both alleviate the problem and worsen it. Specifically, VIRTUAL PRESENCE zooms in on two such loneliness technologies, AV1 and KOMP, developed by the Norwegian start-up company No Isolation. AV1 is a classroom robot for children who cannot attend school because of long-term illness, whereas KOMP is a communication tool for the elderly. By exploring these technologies through the perspectives of users, producers and policy makers, VIRTUAL PRESENCE will elaborate on the complex interrelationship between culture, loneliness and technology in digital society, aiming at enabling better solutions to contemporary problems of loneliness. VIRTUAL PRESENCE will use a comprehensive triangulating approach, combining field interviews, participant observations and document analysis, and develop a novel theoretical framework for analysing loneliness and its technological solutions. Combining a range of cultural-analytical perspectives, the project will question fundamental assumptions about loneliness and technology in digital society, as well as offer revised understandings that are relevant to entrepreneurs, policy makers, educators and the broader public.