Alan Cowen, Co-founder and CEO of Hume, delves into the fascinating world of AI and emotions. With a rich background in affective computing, he discusses how his AI models decode human feelings more accurately than traditional methods. Topics include the inadequacy of conventional emotional theories, ethical concerns about emotion-reading AI, and its potential to enhance customer service and therapy. Cowen emphasizes a design philosophy centered on human well-being rather than mere engagement, signaling a groundbreaking shift in emotional intelligence.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
AI Reads Skepticism
Dan Shipper interviews Hume's empathetic AI model.
The AI analyzes Dan's voice and identifies skepticism, demonstrating its emotional decoding abilities.
insights INSIGHT
Emotions and Preferences
Understanding emotions is crucial for comprehending human preferences.
Real-time emotional analysis enhances language models and text-to-speech systems.
insights INSIGHT
Voice Adds Information
Vocal inflections add significant information beyond the words themselves.
In situations like customer service calls, voice conveys substantial emotional information.
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In this book, Lisa Feldman Barrett presents a new neuroscientific explanation of emotions, overturning the widely held belief that emotions are automatic, universal, and hardwired in different brain regions. Instead, she argues that emotions are constructed in the moment through a unique interplay of brain, body, and culture. Barrett's theory, known as the 'Theory of Constructed Emotions,' suggests that emotions are highly individualized and vary by culture. The book explores how this new understanding has significant implications for fields such as psychology, medicine, law, parenting, and national security. Barrett uses clear, readable prose and practical examples to make her complex theories accessible to a broad audience.
Infinite jest
wit and humor in Italian Renaissance art
Paul Barolsky
In this book, Paul Barolsky examines the role of wit and humor in Italian Renaissance art, providing insights into the artistic and cultural context of the period. The work delves into how artists of the Renaissance used humor and wit in their creations, reflecting the broader cultural and social attitudes of the time.
This AI can read emotions better than you can.
It was created by Alan Cowen, the cofounder and CEO of Hume, an AI research lab developing models that can read your face and your voice with uncanny accuracy. Before starting Hume, Alan helped set up Google’s research into affective computing and has a Ph.D. in computational psychology from Berkely.
Hume’s ultimate goal is to build AI models that can optimize for human well-being, and in this episode I sat down with Alan to understand how that might be possible.
We get into:
What an emotion actually is
Why traditional psychological theories of emotion are inadequate
How Hume is able to model human emotions
How Hume's API enables developers to build empathetic voice interfaces
Applications of the model in customer service, gaming, and therapy
Why Hume is designed to optimize for human well-being instead of engagement
The ethical concerns around creating an AI that can interpret human emotions
The future of psychology as a science
This is a must-watch for anyone interested in the science of emotion and the future of human-AI interactions.
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