Jobs of the future: teaching empathy to artificial intelligence

In a world of taps, swipes, likes and shares, the ability to empathise with others remains a vital part of our daily lives. From comforting a friend, to sharing the pain of an unwell child, empathy is a vital skill that we develop through childhood. Now, thanks to advancements in technology, we're at a stage where we can think about the importance of empathy in machines. Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming an ever-increasing presence in our daily lives, whether it's the voice assistant on your phone, or the complex algorithms used to fight diseases. The way we design interactions with AI systems and the results they provide should be thoughtfully considered, and in the future, the responsibility for designing artificial empathy could fall under the remit of an empathologist – a job that has yet to exist. We spent some time discussing the impact and importance of empathy in AI systems and the possible roles that an empathologist might one day play, with Michael Banissy, Professor and Head of Department in Psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Chris Edgar, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Banissy Lab.