Robots of the future may be given digital serotonin pills to 'stop them getting depressed'

Getting depressed might seem a strange affliction for a robot, but artificially intelligent brains may also suffer from similar mental health problems to people. That's the claim put forward by an American neuroscientist, who says that machines could even hallucinate, if not monitored correctly. Developers will need to create software equivalents to anti-depressants, which help to control levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain, he recommends. Artificial intelligence and robotic brains may suffer from some of the mental health issues traditionally associated with humans. Zachary Mainen works at the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown in Lisbon and studies how the brain makes decisions.