What Is Emotion AI and Can It Really Understand Our Feelings?
The rapid rise of AI chatbots has raised ethical concerns, excitement, and employment worries in almost equal measures. But are the stakes about to be upped again?
If there is an Achilles heel to these tools, it’s the inability to factor human emotions into replies. However, with advances in the field of “emotional AI,” it’s possible that we are about to witness another huge leap forward in AI technology.
An Emotional Problem
Understanding human emotions can be complicated, even for humans. Despite it being something we begin learning at birth, we can still frequently misread another’s emotions. To train machines in a skill that humans haven’t mastered is an enormous challenge.
However, the field of emotion AI, also known as affective computing, is making remarkable strides. To understand how emotional AI works, comparing it to how humans interpret the emotions of others is important. The process can be broken down into three main areas:
The nuances of human emotions are where the challenges arise. To address these challenges, emotion AI uses a range of techniques.
How Does Emotion AI Work?
Similar to how AI chatbots rely onhuge databases called large language models(LLMs) to generate responses, emotional AI also relies on a massive dataset. The main difference is the form of the data.
Step 1: Gathering the Data
Emotional AI “models” gather data from a range of sources. Like LLMs, text makes up a part of the model. But emotional AI models also use other forms of data too, these include:
The collected data can then be used to determine human emotional states. It is worth noting that not all emotional AI models will use the same type of data. For example, a call center will have little use for visual and physiological data. Whereas in healthcare, the inclusion of physiological data is incredibly useful.
Step 2: Emotional Recognition
How data is used to understand emotional states varies depending on its type:
The specifics of how emotional AI works vary depending on the purpose of the application. However, most emotional AI models will rely on at least one of the listed techniques.
Step 3: Generating a Response
The final step is for the AI model to respond appropriately to its determined emotional state. How this response manifests itself depends on the purpose of the AI. It could be in the form of warning a call center operative that their next caller is upset, or it could be personalizing the content of an app.
The full spectrum of uses for this technology will be massive, and organizations are already putting it to various uses.
What Are the Applications of Emotional AI?
AI, in general, is somewhat of a technological multi-tool, and emotional AI is no different. As the technology develops, the spread of uses will widen considerably, as witnessed by the variety of tasks it is already performing:
This all sounds well and good, but as with all things AI, it is never that straightforward. The ethical and privacy concerns surrounding generative AI are just as applicable, but now we have human emotions thrown into the mix.
Ethical and Privacy Concerns of Emotional AI
For every benefit that AI brings us—and there are many—there seems to be a corresponding ethical or privacy concern. This innovative technology is operating at the edge of technological know-how. It is also operating at the edge of societal know-how.
The intersection of emotion and technology is littered with complex challenges that need to be addressed if AI is to be a boon and not a burden. Some of the concerns that are immediately apparent include:
These concerns are genuine, and a concerted effort to address them is the key to unlocking the full benefits of emotional AI.
Don’t Know Whether to Laugh or Cry
This is a promising technology with huge potential benefits. However, it does carry some “emotional baggage” along in its slipstream. The upside is the huge range of potential applications where this could make a huge difference. Everything from healthcare to more immersive gaming experiences can benefit from emotional AI.
But there are some hefty issues to be dealt with if we are to use this to benefit and not hinder humanity.
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