Hands On With Microsoft's Emotion-Detecting Apps - Artificial Intelligence Online

Apps are poised to offer users customized options based on what kind of mood they're in, thanks to an updated suite of cognitive intelligence software that Microsoft unveiled at its Build Developers Conference. These "intelligence APIs" can detect a person's age, ethnicity, and even whether they're amused or frustrated. "It's a new generation of empathetic applications," Microsoft developer Carlos Pessoa said as he fired up a demo app that studies facial expressions to recognize moods. "It changes the app experience based on what you're thinking." The demo prepopulates a screen with eight emotions, ranging from "angry" to "surprised."