Artificial intelligence has a high IQ but no emotional intelligence, and that comes with a cost

Several years ago, I packed up my life in Cairo, Egypt, and moved to the UK to pursue my PhD – thousands of miles away from everyone I knew and loved. As I settled into my new life, I found myself spending more hours with my laptop than with any other human being. I felt isolated and incredibly homesick. Chatting online with my family back home, I was often in tears, but they had no idea how I was feeling behind my screen (with the exception of a sad face emoticon that I would send). I realised then that our technology and devices – which we consider to be "smart", and helpful in many aspects of our lives – are emotion blind.