Recently in Tokyo an AI-driven robot leaned over a man lying on his back and gently put a hand on his knee and another on a shoulder and rolled him onto his side -- a manoeuvre used to change diapers or prevent bedsores in the elderly.

As a dwindling working-age population is causing a severe shortage of care workers in Japan, the country is turning its eyes to robots for a solution. A Japanese university has designed an artificial intelligence (AI) driven humanoid robot called "AIREC" to carry out tasks such as changing diapers or preventing bedsores for older people who need critical care.