Developing Computers With Emotions… A Good Thing?

I’m not sure that I want to be concerned over, “Am I offending my PC?” Yeeesh! One reason I am a geek is that computers DON’T get all emotional over things. Now, they want to change that? Give me a break, guys! (OK, just kidding!)

Computers Are Starting To Get Emotional

“Researchers and startups have begun to focus on the final frontier for our silicon-based buddies — teaching computers to read and respond to human emotions.

They haven’t quite designed a real life Andrew from the Bicentennial Man, but they have lead computers to grasp the basics. At Cambridge University in England, they are trying to teach computers to measure stress, detect how it effects facial expressions and then to interact using a persona that mimics a proper emotional response. Basically, they are building an emotionally sensitive computer. Researchers at Cambridge are building Andrew’s precursor.

They aren’t the only ones. Kay Stanney, owner of Design Interactive says that people give off measurable indications of their mental/emotional state, from heart rate to eye tracking to electroencephalography (EEG), the measurement of brain waves. EEG is for real — there are controllers and apps on the market right now that let you control a computer game using an EEG-based headset.”