The Rise of Emotional AI: A Future Trend?

The concept of ’emotional AI,’ capable of understanding human emotions, may emerge as the next trend in neural networks, according to a report by research firm PitchBook.

Experts note that as companies deploy AI assistants for executives and employees, and employ chatbots in sales and customer support roles, artificial intelligence must discern between an angry and a confused message with identical text, such as: “What do you mean?”

Emotional AI is a technology that analyzes human emotions using cameras, microphones, and other tools to gauge a user’s mood. These tools can be integrated into laptops, smartphones, or exist as standalone devices.

“With the proliferation of AI assistants and fully automated human-machine interactions, emotional AI promises to deliver realistic interpretations and responses,” wrote Derek Hernandez, senior emerging technology analyst at PitchBook.

Major AI providers like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services offer developers access to emotional AI capabilities. The sudden increase in deployed bots provides the technology with greater opportunities to evolve in the corporate sector, as stated in the PitchBook report.

In May, OpenAI announced a “more human-like” version of the GPT-4o chatbot, capable of recognizing emotions and breathing patterns.