Rememo: A Research-through-Design Inquiry Towards an AI-in-the-loop Therapist's Tool for Dementia Reminiscence
🤖 AI Summary
This study addresses the limitations of existing AI systems in dementia reminiscence therapy, which often aim to replace human therapists and overlook the relational core of care while struggling to align with Singapore’s local infrastructure and cultural context. Proposing a therapist-centered AI collaboration paradigm, the research employs a research-through-design approach to develop Rememo, a generative AI tool that reconfigures synthetic imagery as a medium for emotional support rather than factual documentation. By enhancing—rather than substituting—the therapist’s facilitative role, Rememo enables more personalized interventions. Field evaluations demonstrate its efficacy in supporting tailored therapeutic engagement and advance understanding of the dynamics of care relationships in human-AI collaboration, thereby opening new pathways for non-pharmacological, AI-augmented dementia interventions.
Application Category
📝 Abstract
Reminiscence therapy (RT) is a common non-pharmacological intervention in dementia care. Recent technology-mediated interventions have largely focused on people with dementia through solutions that replace human facilitators with conversational agents. However, the relational work of facilitation is critical in the effectiveness of RT. Hence, we developed Rememo, a therapist-oriented tool that integrates Generative AI to support and enrich human facilitation in RT. Our tool aims to support the infrastructural and cultural challenges that therapists in Singapore face. In this research, we contribute the Rememo system as a therapist's tool for personalized RT developed through sociotechnically-aware research-through-design. Through studying this system in-situ, our research extends our understanding of human-AI collaboration for care work. We discuss the implications of designing AI-enabled systems that respect the relational dynamics in care contexts, and argue for a rethinking of synthetic imagery as a therapeutic support for memory rahter than a record of truth.
Problem
Research questions and friction points this paper is trying to address.
reminiscence therapy
dementia care
human-AI collaboration
therapist support
relational dynamics
Innovation
Methods, ideas, or system contributions that make the work stand out.
Generative AI
Human-AI collaboration
Reminiscence therapy
Research-through-Design
Synthetic imagery
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