Undeceptions with John Dickson REWIND: Emotional Intelligence
May 19, 2025
Rosalind Pickard, a MIT professor specializing in affective computing, dives into the intriguing potential of AI to experience emotions. She discusses the groundbreaking android Sophia and its implications for healthcare and education. The conversation also revisits the infamous Clippy, revealing its failures in emotional understanding. Pickard emphasizes the challenges of merging AI with human emotional intelligence, while exploring the profound emotional interactions illustrated in the Gospels, contrasting them with stoic philosophy.
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Clippy's Emotional Blindness
- Microsoft Clippy had no understanding of user emotions, only tasks.
- Users found it annoying as it couldn't detect frustration or dislike.
Simulated AI Emotions Misunderstood
- Rosalind Picard emphasizes AI models emotions but does not possess real emotions.
- Media oversimplifies this by saying computers "have emotions" when they simulate them.
Give Users Emotional Control
- People want control over emotional support technology, preferring forecasts over sudden interventions.
- AI should notify users before acting, letting users decide if help is desired.
