China Releases First Emotional AI White Paper, Driving Smart Elder Care Innovation
Emotional AI is no longer just a futuristic concept, it’s becoming the emotional backbone of smart elder care, bridging technology and humanity in an aging world. (Source: Fotor AI)
China has officially entered a new era of smart elderly care with the release of its first national White Paper on Emotional Companion AI, launched on July 10 in Chongqing. Issued by Mashang Consumer Finance’s research institute, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and the China Intelligent Computing Industry Alliance, the paper marks a significant milestone in leveraging care technologies to tackle the country’s rapidly aging population.
Emotional AI Emerges as a Critical Tool in Smart Elder Care
By the end of 2024, China’s senior population aged 60 and above reached 310 million, or 22% of the total population, creating increasing strain on traditional care systems. With shrinking family sizes and a rise in “empty-nest” households, AI-powered care solutions are seen as essential to fill the caregiving gap.
The White Paper identifies emotional companion AI as a core technology that can redefine elder care by offering human-centric, emotionally responsive interaction. This includes the ability to detect unspoken needs, initiate social contact, and offer psychological comfort, especially for seniors living alone or in institutional settings.
Key Innovations: Multimodal Interaction and Proactive Engagement
The paper outlines a comprehensive technical framework, spotlighting four transformative shifts in care AI:
Multimodal Emotional Recognition: Moving beyond voice-only systems, AI now integrates voice, facial microexpressions, gestures, and biometric signals for more accurate emotional understanding.
Proactive Care Models: Emotional AI is evolving from reactive assistance to anticipatory care, using predictive analytics to identify issues before they escalate.
Community-Based Integration: Emerging models focus on embedding AI companions in community settings to maintain familiar social connections and reduce isolation.
Human-AI Hybrid Systems: Automation is not enough—hybrid care models that combine AI tools with human professional support ensure emotional depth and authenticity.
Case in Point: Peipei – The Emotionally Intelligent Care Robot
A new type of robot, Peipei, has landed a job at an eldercare service centre in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, thanks to its ability to handle the complex emotional needs of seniors. (Source: XinHua Net)
A standout innovation highlighted is Peipei, an emotional AI-powered companion robot developed by Mashang. Already in use at a Chongqing welfare institute, Peipei can recognize 32 types of facial expressions with 92% accuracy, engage in localized dialect conversation, and simulate family voices in under ten seconds—features designed to address loneliness and foster emotional bonds.
Peipei also integrates health risk screening and remote monitoring, and offers personalized interventions such as playing nostalgic music in response to sadness. With expansion plans targeting over one million users in Chongqing and ten million across China within five years, Peipei represents the scalability and commercial potential of emotional AI in elder care.
Strategic Implications: A New Frontier for the AI Care Industry
Chongqing’s push into embodied intelligence, including AI, sensor integration, and robotics, aligns with broader national goals to industrialize smart healthcare. The White Paper underscores that while technology plays a crucial role, emotional care must remain human-centered. The ultimate vision is not to replace human caregivers, but to augment them through AI-driven tools, enabling more sustainable and emotionally intelligent care systems.
As aging populations rise globally, China's White Paper signals a bold step forward in AI-driven elder care innovation—offering both a blueprint for future policy and a blueprint for a rapidly growing care tech market.
🚀 Connect with Global Leaders in Aging & Care Innovation!
Sourcingcares links international partners in aging care, long-term care, and health technology, fostering collaboration and driving solutions for a changing world. Our initiatives include Cares Expo Taipei, where the future of elder care takes shape!
🔗 Follow us for insights & opportunities:
📌 Facebook: sourcingcares
📌 LinkedIn: sourcingcares
📍 Explore more at Cares Expo Taipei!
Source：
