Can software express emotion? What about the people who create it? What if a combination of sensing hardware and software could determine your emotional state and respond based on that input?
The concept of Emotional Machines has been around for a number of years. Biofeedback machines have been used since the 70s to monitor things like heart rate, the electrical conductivity of your skin, blood pressure, and sweat. The US Military and scientists interested in human consciousness have used these technologies to train people to master their emotions and change their energetic state when needed. Using these techniques, Navy Seals are able to stay calm under enormous pressure, retaining energy and focus that would otherwise be wasted. Using similar techniques, though generally without the benefit of technological feedback, some Buddhist monks have the ability to sit in meditation and raise their body temperature enough that they can dry out a cold, wet blanket while sitting on a frigid stone floor.
Modern technology such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has helped scientists discover very specific regions of the brain that are active when certain emotions are in play. Imagine wearing a pair of glasses that contains sensors which can scan your brain for this kind of activity, feeding it wirelessly to a nearby computer. If you were playing a computer game, the game might get more intense until your heart rate reaches a certain level. At that point it might ask you to calm yourself quickly in order to be prepared for the next level. If you do, you get to enter the doorway, if not, you go back to another round of heart-pounding action and the cycle repeats until you either wear yourself out or discover how to shift emotional states.
This kind of scenario is being designed today by video game companies and will be on the market within 3 years.
It could also be used to train autistic children to activate parts of their brains that are less active. Or any of us for that matter. Imagine software that lets you pick your phobia, draws you into a heightened state of anxiety, then invites you to try different things to reduce that anxiety. You would in effect be training yourself with new coping mechanisms, new patterns of thought, that would be useful in other life situations.
My description above is a positive vision of how this technology could be used to help us expand our emotional intelligence. It could also be used for less admirable purposes that may not be so healthy. Since this technology is here, it’s time to ask, “how will we use it?” What purpose does it serve? Let’s make sure it serves both people and pocket books.
