How a Student-Led Nonprofit Brought an AI Companion Robot to Local Seniors
On May 27, students from the nonprofit SeBoost demonstrated ElliQ — an AI companion built for older adults — at the Mercer Island Library, part of a hands-on push to close the senior tech gap.
A student-led nonprofit called SeBoost (Senior Boosters) put artificial intelligence directly into older adults’ hands on May 27, 2026, hosting a live demonstration of the AI companion robot ElliQ at the Mercer Island Library. Rather than a slideshow, attendees talked to the robot themselves — a small, concrete answer to a big question: how do you make AI useful for the people most often left out of it?
What happened
ElliQ, built by Intuition Robotics, is designed specifically for older adults — it holds conversations, offers reminders, and provides companionship. The session was led by SeBoost president Ina Song alongside Chris Lee of Intuition Robotics, and emphasized hands-on interaction over passive demo.
SeBoost runs a Senior Tech Support program that regularly helps older adults navigate phones, email, patient portals, and online systems — the everyday digital friction that compounds into isolation. A biweekly dance and movement class for seniors is slated to launch in summer 2026.
“Technologies like ElliQ do not replace human relationships, but they raise important questions about how support, companionship and independence might be re-imagined,” organizers noted.
Why it matters
This is the pattern we cover most: AI adoption that starts with a real human need, not a tool. The students didn’t lead with the technology — they led with loneliness and independence, then let the tool serve that. That instinct mirrors what practical AI literacy advocates have argued for years — that access, not novelty, is the point.
Know a group doing work like this? Tell us about it.
Reported from coverage by the Mercer Island Reporter.