Empathy absolutely fascinates me. In particular, I want to explore how empathy can be automated. Even though empathy is a fundamentally interpersonal thing, I believe it's also a fundamentally quantitative thing in that someone who is good at empathy can keep more things in mind about the individual they're trying to empathize with than someone who is poor at empathy. With technology improving at such a rapid pace today, we are able to analyze data in historically unparalleled quantities – specifically, massive quantities that allow us to start to rigorously examine more intangible, abstract concepts like emotionality, value, and sentimentality in ways we've never been able to before.Perhaps an "empathy machine" will never be as accurate as the best humans at empathy, but even a moderately good empathy machine could vastly improve the quality of life of many people in so many ways. For instance, you could increase the reach of therapy programs for emotional disorders to rural and underprivileged demographics through online, self-report diagnosis. You could help people find lifelong romantic partners, or at least narrow the canonical sea of fish to a mere pond. You could better improve corporate recruiting procedures by identifying candidates who would better fit your company culture. You could reduce tensions or conflict between ethnic or religious groups. Call me idealistic, but such a device would, in my eyes, bring us one step closer to world peace.
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