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In a world where your smartphone knows your dinner cravings, artificial intelligence (AI) is venturing into the intricate realm of <keyword id="21340844" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="human-emotions" source="keywords">human emotions</keyword>. Imagine an AI that can gauge your mood better than your closest friend. This intriguing thing is very much happening, and it could reshape how we interact with technology. <h2>The quest for <keyword id="23059919" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="emotion-recognition" source="keywords">emotion recognition</keyword></h2>Human emotions are complex and often elusive, making them challenging to quantify. Researchers at Tsinghua University are fusing traditional psychological methods with advanced AI tools to create a clearer path to <keyword id="23285769" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="emotion-quantification" source="keywords">emotion quantification</keyword>. While humans might struggle to articulate their feelings, a considerable amount of work is being done to train AI to observe, quantify, and recognise various emotional states. Through technologies like <keyword id="23285768" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gesture-recognition" source="keywords">gesture recognition</keyword> and <keyword id="23285767" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="facial-emotion-recognition" source="keywords">facial emotion recognition</keyword> (FER), AI is preparing to become an emotional detective. As Feng Liu, a researcher at East China Normal University, noted, “This technology has the potential to transform fields such as health care, education, and customer service, facilitating <keyword id="21758007" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="personalised-experiences" source="keywords">personalised experiences</keyword> and enhanced comprehension of human emotions.” AI isn’t limited to one form of input; it combines a multitude of developments. For example, some techniques utilise EEG scans to monitor electrical activity in the brain, along with eye movement technology to gauge expressions. Other measurements, such as heart rate variability and electrical skin response, are also used to convert the intangible "emotion" into recognisable patterns. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="113417607" title="A medical professor pitted AI models against his students to see who would score better on his tests. The results were shocking!" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>Multi-modal emotion recognition combines different perceptual channels — sight, hearing, and touch — to gain a more comprehensive understanding of emotions. Liu emphasises that “interdisciplinary collaboration between AI, psychology, psychiatry, and other fields will be key in achieving this goal and unlocking the full potential of emotion quantification for the benefit of society.” <h2>Why it matters</h2>So, why does it matter that AI is learning to be emotionally intelligent? In our increasingly digital world, the ability to understand emotions could enhance interactions with technology and improve our quality of life. This innovation could create personalised experiences that resonate with our emotional states, transforming AI from a mere tool into a valuable partner in our daily lives. Further, as <keyword id="19956983" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mental-health" source="keywords">mental health</keyword> becomes a top priority, the potential for <keyword id="23285766" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="emotionally-intelligent-AI" source="keywords">emotionally intelligent AI</keyword> becomes even more significant. Emotion quantification AI can help monitor an individual’s mental health and create personalised experiences — all without the need to involve another person. This could lead to a more supportive environment for those struggling with their mental health. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="113412410" title="AI robots should not look like us, says Ex-Google robotics moonshot boss as he explains what he learnt at the company" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>However, this emotionally savvy AI isn’t without challenges. Issues of safety and transparency, especially regarding sensitive topics like medical and psychological counselling, must be addressed. Stringent data handling practices and privacy measures will be essential. Additionally, ensuring that AI can adapt to cultural nuances is critical to maintaining its integrity and reliability. The findings of this research have been published in CAAI Artificial Intelligence Research and can be accessed <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.26599/AIR.2024.9150040">here</a>.

AI is learning to be 'emotionally intelligent' — here's why that matters

Before Joaquin Phoenix smashed his way into mainstream popularity for his jaw-dropping performance as the Joker, the actor was also the star of the movie Her. The plot of Her was as simple as it was unfamiliar: newer operating systems come with AI that is shockingly human-like, to the point where (spoiler alert!) many begin to fall in love with their personalised devices. The 2013 movie drew many reactions, from some horrified at the possibility of such a romance, to others ridiculing the premise. If you were part of the sceptical latter, we have some terrible news for you: human-AI romance is already becoming a thing. <h2>Meet your new AI soulmate</h2>In the past decade, virtual assistants like Apple’s Siri and Amazon's Alexa have become part of our everyday tech lives. Now, a new breed of AI has emerged, ready to whisper sweet nothings into your digital ear: AI romantic companions. These <keyword id="19987344" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="chatbots" source="keywords">chatbots</keyword> — such as Eva AI and Replika — interact with users through text, voice, and even images, tailoring everything from their looks to their personality. A <a href="https://theconversation.com/computer-love-ai-powered-chatbots-are-changing-how-we-understand-romantic-and-sexual-well-being-234054">Conversation article </a>notes how the pandemic's lockdowns and social distancing fueled a surge in <keyword id="19932884" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="loneliness" source="keywords">loneliness</keyword>, prompting many to seek companionship from such AI applications. But they aren't just pretty faces (or voices). AI chatbots learn and adapt through conversation, becoming eerily good at anticipating your needs, preferences, and moods. Before you know it, you might find yourself not just talking to an AI, but falling for one. Research has already shown that these chatbots can offer real comfort, easing loneliness and boosting positive emotions with supportive, non-judgmental interactions. They provide a safe space for open conversations and advice when human options are limited. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111692052" title="Large language models like ChatGPT struggle as soon as they encounter unfamiliar problems, MIT study finds!" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>What’s surprising is that people report similar levels of enjoyment, sexual arousal, and emotional response whether they believe they’re interacting with a human or a chatbot. In some cases, users even feel a stronger <keyword id="19946525" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="emotional-connection" source="keywords">emotional connection</keyword> to chatbots than to less responsive humans. It seems we’re not just willing to open our hearts to AI; we're also happy to let them in. As for the elephant in the bedroom, you might be surprised to know that there could be actual benefits to <keyword id="22416523" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AI-sex" source="keywords">AI sex</keyword> a well! Experts note that AI-driven sexual interactions could provide a safe, low-risk alternative to traditional romantic and sexual relationships. This could particularly benefit individuals who face challenges in establishing satisfying connections due to illness, bereavement, sexual difficulties, psychological barriers, or mobility impairments. <h2>The dark side of AI love</h2>Her showed that every rose has its thorn, even in the case of highly personalised tech. And this may not be far from the truth either, as experts have begun to worry that romantic chatbots — with their constant availability and seamless interactions — can set up unrealistic expectations for human relationships. For instance, the fact that they don’t argue, they don’t get tired, and they never need a break, can skew users' views of what real-world relationships should be like, potentially stunting social skills and emotional growth. The customisable nature and constant presence of AI companions can lead to social isolation and emotional dependency, making users more likely to retreat from real-world interactions. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111206789" title="Here’s what ChatGPT said about why it discriminated against CVs with disability mentions" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div><keyword id="20082779" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="privacy-concerns" source="keywords">Privacy concerns</keyword> also loom large. A 2023 Mozilla Foundation analysis of AI chatbots found that many apps share or sell personal data and prevent users from deleting their information. <h2>Do AI chatbots dream of electric sheep?</h2>While AI chatbots may appear convincing enough — <keyword id="15681942" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ChatGPT" source="Orion">ChatGPT</keyword> has already passed the Turing test — are they conscious? While most experts almost unanimously reject the notion that today’s AI models are self-aware, improvements in AI have the potential to blur the lines to outside observers. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="111655165" title="From foe to friend? Professionals now see AI as a transformative tool that will save time, create more specialist jobs: Reuters report" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div><a href="https://academic.oup.com/nc/article/2024/1/niae013/7644104">A recent study </a>revealed that many people believe AI like ChatGPT has conscious experiences. Over two-thirds of participants thought AI could have self-awareness or phenomenal consciousness. This belief gap between experts and the public could shape the ethical, legal, and moral landscape of AI. It is clear that AI companions are here to stay, which will undoubtedly muddy our perspective on human relationships and our understanding of consciousness. As we navigate this brave new world, we must ensure our digital dalliances enrich our lives without overshadowing the real, messy, beautiful complexity of human connections.

People are already becoming romantically and sexually involved with AI — here’s the problem with that

Imagine sitting across from an AI interviewer, answering questions about your life, preferences, and opinions for two hours. When the session ends, the AI confidently declares it can replicate your personality — answering questions, making decisions, and reacting to situations just like you would. A team of researchers from <keyword id="20239252" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Google-DeepMind" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Google DeepMind" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Google DeepMind">Google DeepMind</keyword>, along with computer scientists and sociologists, has developed a groundbreaking AI system capable of creating eerily accurate simulations of individual personalities, blurring the line between technology and identity. This innovative system uses artificial intelligence to analyse responses in real-time, generating what the researchers call “personality agents.” While the concept might conjure up images of clones or digital twins, the team is quick to point out that their aim is far less dystopian. Instead, they see it as a tool to revolutionise sociology and research, making it faster, cheaper, and more precise to study how people think and feel about the world around them. The process begins with a two-hour interview conducted by a conversational AI through an interface designed to be intuitive and engaging. A friendly 2D sprite represents the AI interviewer, its white circle pulsating as it speaks. When it’s the participant’s turn, the sprite morphs into a microphone icon, capturing their responses while a progress bar keeps track of the session. It’s an almost game-like experience, but beneath the surface, the AI is hard at work. By analysing speech patterns, preferences, and decision-making tendencies, it constructs a digital personality — a model capable of answering questions with an impressive 85% accuracy compared to the real person, as claimed by the researchers. The researchers, who interviewed 1,000 participants to train the system, are confident in its potential. They envision it as a game-changer for sociology, a field that relies heavily on surveys to understand human behaviour. Traditional surveys are time-consuming and expensive, requiring researchers to draft, distribute, and analyse them meticulously. With AI-generated <keyword id="24219225" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="personality-agents" source="keywords">personality agents</keyword>, researchers could simulate responses to different scenarios without needing to interview thousands of individuals each time. This could dramatically reduce costs while increasing the scale and precision of social research. The implications, however, extend beyond academia. The ability to simulate personalities could transform personal AI assistants, making them more intuitive and personalised. Imagine a digital assistant that truly “gets” you, anticipating your needs and preferences with uncanny accuracy. The technology could also enhance <keyword id="24219229" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="human-robot-interaction" source="keywords">human-robot interaction</keyword>, paving the way for robots that respond to emotions and situations as naturally as humans. Of course, the concept isn’t without its challenges. The ethical considerations are significant — how do we ensure consent when creating and using these digital replicas? What happens if someone uses this technology maliciously? For instance, these AI models could be weaponised in targeted advertising or political campaigns, using their deep understanding of a person’s preferences to subtly manipulate behaviour. There’s also the psychological discomfort of knowing your digital "self" could be interacting with others in ways you can’t control, potentially leading to trust issues or even emotional harm. The researchers acknowledge these concerns but emphasise their focus on transparency and ethical development. For now, they’re prioritising its use in <keyword id="24219226" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sociological-research" source="keywords">sociological research</keyword>, but the possibilities for broader applications are undeniable. Whether that future excites or unsettles you, one thing is clear: the line between human and machine is becoming increasingly blurred. The findings of this research have been published in a preprint journal and can be accessed <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2411.10109">here</a>.

Researchers have created an AI that can simulate your personality with 85% accuracy after a 2-hour chat!

Here’s a fun twist you might not expect: a recent study shows that most people can't tell if a poem was crafted by a human or AI — and even more surprising, we often prefer the AI versions! Researchers Brian Porter and Edouard Machery from the University of Pittsburgh put this theory to the test, and the results reveal something pretty quirky about our poetic tastes. <h2>Human or AI? You decide!</h2>For this experiment, Porter and Machery recruited over 1,600 participants and gave them a batch of <keyword id="6355263" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="poetry" source="Orion">poetry</keyword> to read. Each participant got ten poems, five written by legendary poets like William Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, Lord Byron, and T.S. Eliot, and five crafted by ChatGPT-3.5 mimicking these poets’ styles. Participants had no idea which ones were real and which were AI. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="115273975" title="5 interesting takeaways from Slack&amp;#39;s survey of 17,000 desk workers about AI" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>The shocker was that readers were more likely to think the AI poems were written by humans! In fact, the poems people thought least likely to be human were often written by the very poets we’d consider masters of the craft. <h2>What makes a poem feel "real"?</h2>Curious to dive deeper, the researchers set up a second experiment with 696 new participants. This time, each reader rated poems on things like beauty, emotion, rhythm, and originality. The readers were divided into three groups: some were told the poems were written by humans, others by AI, and a third group got no information at all. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="115299674" title="Instead of killing jobs, there&amp;#39;s a strange AI hiring boom happening, according to Marc Andreessen" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>They found that if you tell someone a poem was AI-generated, they’re likely to rate it lower on just about every quality. But here’s the twist: when people didn’t know who wrote the poems, they often rated the AI-generated ones higher than the human written ones! <h2>So, why are we falling for AI poetry?</h2>Turns out, AI poems often end up being a little more straightforward and easy to enjoy, while poems by famous poets can be more complex and challenging. Instead of appreciating the depth of a classic poet’s work, readers sometimes mistake complexity for confusion and move on. <keyword id="23985627" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="AI-generated-poems" source="keywords">AI-generated poems</keyword>, meanwhile, serve up their message in a style that feels familiar and easy to “get,” making them more enjoyable at first glance. Basically, we tend to believe we’ll prefer human poetry. But in reality, AI’s smooth style is just easier to like — and we interpret this as a sign the poem was created by a human. The findings of this research have been published in Scientific Reports and can be accessed <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-76900-1">here</a>.

New study finds readers can’t tell AI poems from human ones — and they often prefer AI

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Dogs have developed a special kind of emotional bond with humans over millennia.</li><li>They connect with us in ways that other domestic animals haven't, per a new study.</li></ul><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/single-mom-made-money-side-hustle-backyard-sniffspot-dog-park-2024-6">Pet owners</a> worldwide came together for a scientific experiment proving how emotionally bonded dogs are to us.For the experiment, scientists asked the owners to play separate recordings: one of a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/crocodiles-are-drawn-to-the-sound-of-human-babies-crying-2023-8">human crying</a> and another of a human humming. The owners then watched and video-recorded their dog's reactions.When the 30 dogs (both purebreds and mixed breeds) in the study heard sad human cries, they would start to scratch, shake, lift a paw, lick their mouths, and some even whined — behavior that suggested the animals were stressed or agitated, the scientists reported in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347224001465?via%3Dihub">Animal Behavior</a>.However, when the dogs heard the neutral humming, they were less responsive and didn't seem so concerned.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-dog-breeds-looked-100-years-ago-2016-2">Dogs of all shapes</a>, sizes, and ages, from golden retrievers and boxers to beagles, labs, and Border Collies — all between 2 to 11 years old — participated in the study. And their different reactions prove an important point about our canine companions.<h2 id="0130d2c9-67ab-4d32-afa5-1119ed0b5b1b">Dogs understand us on a deeper level</h2><div type="image" title="a white and gray husky sits on a rug on a hard wood floor with a camera on the left" height="2288" width="4000" msid="112408480" hostid="261" sizebytes="550358"></div>The dogs in the study exhibited what scientists call <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-make-people-like-you-2017-3">emotional contagion</a>, which is a person's (or animal's) unconscious tendency to mimic another's emotions. Study co-author Paula Pérez Fraga, a researcher for Eötvös Loránd University's Department of Ethology, said it's related to empathy.Typically, emotional contagion exists within the same species because it's how animals <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/health/sex-relationships/effective-communication">bond and communicate</a>. Dogs, however, have developed this social tactic with an entirely different species: humans.Vanessa Woods, who wasn't involved with the study, has worked with hundreds of dogs as director of Duke University's Puppy Kindergarten, which studies puppy traits that lead to the best companions as adults.She's witnessed dogs' emotional contagion firsthand many times."They just know when I need a hug, or they know when I'm stressed out," Woods told Business Insider, adding, "The emotional connection that we have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/grief-pet-death-feels-like-family-member-death-2024-6">with our dogs is real</a>, and that's why they bring so much joy."Of course, the level of emotional contagion in dogs varies. Some have more than others, Woods pointed out. But, in general, there's a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dont-like-dogs-messed-up-dating-life-2024-6">deep connection there</a>.The researchers of this new study were trying to determine whether this connection existed among other domesticated animals or if dogs are — indeed — special."Our main idea was that we asked ourselves if this was something special from dogs or if this kind of emotional contagion can be shared among other animals," Fraga said.Fraga and her colleagues played the same crying and humming sounds to 22 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-experience-with-pet-pig-2023-9">house pigs to find out</a>. The pigs responded very differently.<h2 id="4a590ad0-2982-4f3d-8af1-1327cd64e58a">How pigs responded differently to human crying than dogs</h2><div type="image" title="A pink pig standing next to a brown stuffed animal and staring at the camera" height="2448" width="3264" msid="112408475" hostid="261" sizebytes="156772"></div>The pigs didn't appear to mind the crying sounds and instead seemed more agitated by the humming.However, this <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jason-momoa-instagram-pets-pig-video-slumberland-2022-11">doesn't mean pigs are dumb</a> or indifferent, Fraga said. Fraga added that humming is an unusual sound that the pigs likely weren't familiar with and didn't understand."What we suggest is that for the pigs, this humming was a highly novel vocalization. So this is why they might be <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/workers-were-more-stressed-than-ever-last-year-gallup-report-2022-6">more stressed</a> after hearing this humming," Fraga said.Fraga added that the findings clearly indicate dogs' strong connection with humans. They "have been with us for more time than any other domestic species, and they have been selected for cooperation and dependency on us," Fraga said.She added that more research is needed to determine whether pigs or other domesticated animals share that same bond.In the meantime, it's probably safe to say that your <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/svalinn-protection-dogs-cost-wealthy-breed-montana-2024-7">pooch is pretty special</a>."I love pigs, but I think it just shows how specialized dogs are," Woods said of the study, adding, "They've really integrated into our world and into our lives in a way that other domesticated animals haven't."

Dogs were played the sound of humans crying. Their reaction shows a unique emotional bond with us that other animals lack.

Gen Z wants to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-advocate-mental-health-flexibility-workplace-management-2023-7">talk about mental health</a>. And these days, they want to talk about it at the office.In a 2023 survey of nearly 3,000 people, Gen Z was almost twice as likely as other generations to say they <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-stress-anxiety-normal-life-experiences-expert-says-2024-2">struggled with their mental health</a>. And nearly half said they're fine talking about it at work — 20% more than other generations. Anecdotally, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millennial-manage-boss-gen-z-workers-feelings-work-employees2023-2">managers have said their youngest employees confront anxiety</a> and have no qualms about <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/remote-work-fueling-gen-z-job-anxiety-stress-mental-health-2023-12">openly discussing it</a>.This comfort with vulnerability shouldn't be a surprise. Gen Zers grew up amid a movement to destigmatize mental illness and encourage people to get treatment. They witnessed suicide rates tick up, especially among their peers. They watched <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/celebrities-who-spoke-up-about-their-mental-health-in-2022-2022-12">celebrities</a> like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/selena-gomez-bipolar-disorder-diagnosis-pandemic-mental-health-2020-8">Selena Gomez</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/simone-biles-adhd-meds-banned-japan-impacting-performance-2021-7">Simone Biles</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/demi-lovato-mental-health-hotline-during-coronavirus-2020-4">Demi Lovato</a> speak out about once taboo subjects such as bipolar disorder, depression, and ADHD. And over the past few years, they've watched rates of depression and anxiety climb through the roof. They've felt increasingly empowered to be open about their struggles, support their coworkers, and lobby management for better benefits.In a recent survey of US businesses conducted by the consultancy group Mercer and published by the US Chamber of Commerce, companies reported an overwhelming increase in demand for mental-health care over the past few years. In response, 94% of companies employing more than 500 people have added mental-health benefits — from expanded access to therapy to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/companies-offering-more-mental-health-benefits-amid-coronavirus-2020-4">in-office programs for mental-health training</a>. Across corporate America, talking about mental health is all the rage.There's just one problem. While destigmatizing mental illness is important, a workplace overly focused on mental health isn't always a recipe for better mental-health outcomes. Recent articles about "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/therapy-speak-language-terms-retire-2024-2023-12">therapy speak</a>" and being "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/therapy-speak-overtherapized-boundaries-tiktok-internet-debate-concern-therapist-2023-9">overtherapized</a>" point to a growing sense that all the mental-health talk might be a bit much. In fact, researchers studying the issue think that talking about your psychological struggles too much can make your problems worse.A healthy work environment is one where people feel supported and encouraged to do meaningful work — not one that fixates on their mental health.Americans are overwhelmingly worried about a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-americans-dont-exercise-mental-health-crisis-depression-anxiety-fitness-2024-6">mental-health crisis</a>. In a 2022 poll of American adults conducted by the American Psychiatric Association, 79% said they viewed mental health as a public-health emergency in the US. When asked in a December KFF poll about crucial issues for the 2024 presidential candidates to discuss, far more people said access to mental-health care was most important compared with those who listed immigration, gun violence, abortion, or the climate crisis as the top issue.The concern is well placed. Gallup found that between 2015 and 2023, the share of Americans who said they had been diagnosed with depression increased from about 20% to almost 30%. In just two decades, the number of Americans who received mental-health treatment shot up from 27 million in 2002 to nearly 56 million in 2022. Half of US physicians in a CVS Health/Harris Poll survey last year reported that their patients' mental health was declining.Among young people, the problem is worse: A 2022 KFF/CNN survey found that adults under 30 were far more likely than those in older age groups to report that they often or always felt depressed or anxious. In a recent <a target="_blank" href="https://humanflourishinglab.org/hope-in-america-2024/">survey</a> from the Archbridge Institute's Human Flourishing Lab, where I serve as the director, only 64% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 said their mental health was good — less than any other age group and a stark contrast from the roughly 90% of people over 45 who said the same.These trends have important implications for the workplace. Poor mental health <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-deal-with-stress-burnout-work-mental-health-professional-2023-11">reduces labor-force participation</a>, work engagement, and job performance, costing the economy an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gallup.com/workplace/404174/economic-cost-poor-employee-mental-health.aspx">estimated</a> $50 billion in lost productivity each year. And companies are noticing the impact: In a 2023 <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessgrouphealth.org/resources/2024-large-employer-health-care-strategy-survey-executive-summary">survey</a> of 152 large American employers, 77% of companies reported an increase in mental-health concerns among their employees. To address this problem, human-resources departments have flooded the workplace with resources and programs: everything from online resources through partnerships with wellness and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/online-therapy-mental-health-apps-betterhelp-talkspace-cerebral-dark-side-2023-4">therapy apps like Calm and BetterHelp</a> to in-house resources such as office peer support groups, mental-health seminars, and spaces specifically for meditation and yoga. Many companies are also facing a push for cultural change. In a recent survey by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, three-quarters of workers polled said it was appropriate to discuss mental health at work, and even more said that supervisors and senior leadership were responsible for helping employees feel comfortable discussing their mental health.On TikTok, people are recording their on-the-job breakdowns. Across social media, Gen Zers swap tips on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-quit-job-within-year-for-mental-health-2024-4">avoiding toxic workplaces</a>. And in work-based TV shows like "Severance," "Industry," and "The Bear," mental health is front and center. Everyone seems to agree that companies need to do something.Breaking through the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pilot-mental-illness-faa-regulations-joseph-emerson-2023-11">mental-health stigma</a> is important: Many people struggling with depression or anxiety do not seek help because of their fear that it could harm their reputation, social relationships, and professional aspirations. In that sense, it's a good thing when workplaces become supportive environments where colleagues and supervisors view mental-health issues humanely.But there's a limit. Too much mental-health talk can be counterproductive. Take concept creep, for example — the idea that the meanings of things like abuse, trauma, anxiety, and depression have expanded over time. Over the years, negative emotional experiences that were once considered a normal part of life have increasingly been viewed as signs of psychological disorders. <a target="_blank" href="https://muse.jhu.edu/article/773952">Trauma</a>, for example, once referred to the severe psychological distress that came from rare, life-threatening experiences. Now, it's used to describe less-severe distress caused by a wider variety of adverse events, such as exposure to offensive speech or violent media.Some psychologists <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0732118X2300003X#bib48">believe</a> that efforts to increase public awareness of mental-health problems in the Western world have actually made the problem worse — they have encouraged people to fixate on negative psychological experiences and interpret normal levels of emotional discomfort as abnormal. This misinterpretation can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy, they argue, whereby people begin to think and behave as if they truly have a mental disorder, ultimately <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0732118X2300003X#bib48">increasing their risk</a> of developing one.Well-intentioned efforts to get people to think and talk more about mental health may inadvertently promote excessive dwelling on negative emotions and personal insecurities — known in psychology as rumination — which can exacerbate psychological distress. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-blogs/rumination-a-cycle-of-negative-thinking#:~:text=The%20repetitive%2C%20negative%20aspect%20of,and%20can%20worsen%20existing%20conditions.">Research</a> indicates that rumination can make depression and anxiety disorders worse, which is why helping other people is an especially effective way to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression — it takes people's minds off their own problems. So when employers encourage workers to spend time <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/3-signs-youre-intellectualizing-your-emotions-instead-of-feeling-them-2024-5">focused on their mental states</a> with "emotional check-ins" or by including more mental-health language in office communications, they may well push staff to ruminate on their problems — and make them worse. And while workplace leaders can lend a sympathetic ear, most are not trained psychologists or psychiatrists and thus lack the expertise required to properly identify and address mental illness.There's also a professional risk. Sharing your personal health information with colleagues and supervisors can blur professional boundaries and result in discrimination due to an altered perception of your competence that could affect your career advancement. When managers share too much about their psychological struggles, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0749597815302521">researchers</a> have found, it can undermine how their employees see them.In other words, the office isn't equipped to treat mental-health issues — but it can help in other ways.What does have a tangible impact on people's well-being at work is whether they <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-find-meaning-purpose-at-work-gen-z-employee-2022-12">find their work meaningful</a>. The more people view their lives — and work — as meaningful, the lower their risk for depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and suicide is. And when people experience mental-health problems, the things in life they find meaningful can play an important role in their recovery. At work, finding meaning also improves the overall organization. Workers are more likely to <a target="_blank" href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/joms.12406">report</a> high levels of job satisfaction and low intentions of quitting if they view their work as meaningful.I've spent two decades of my career as an existential psychologist studying the need for meaning in life. The most important lesson employers can learn is that meaning is about <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/work-life-balance-job-satisfaction-burnout-great-resignation-office-return-2023-4">social significance</a>. People feel the most meaningful when they believe that they're making important contributions to the lives of others. <a target="_blank" href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2022-02586-001">Research</a> has found that people are more likely to derive meaning from their work when they focus on how it serves a greater good, rather than how it advances their career. Other <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001879121001032#bb0035">research</a> has found that work feels the most meaningful when workers have a strong sense of autonomy at work and believe their efforts significantly and positively influence the lives of others.Prioritizing positive mental health in the workplace is crucial — most of us spend the majority of our time on the job, after all. But the solution, ultimately, isn't as straightforward as raising awareness and fostering open conversations. Instead, employers should ensure their staff have access to mental-health care while building a positive culture that promotes meaningful work.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/clay-routledge">Clay Routledge</a> is vice president of research and director of the Human Flourishing Lab at the Archbridge Institute.

We need to stop having 'emotional check-ins' at work

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Marketing has long struggled to establish a standard measurement for brand value.</li><li>Quantifying emotional impact in consumers, using AI, could be the next major marketing trend.</li></ul>The number one thing on the minds of CMOs in 2024 is proving measurable brand value.There have been many ways of assessing brand value in the past including revenue, the value of future net earnings, and net promoter scores. But nothing has ever been precise enough to become a singular industry standard.Net promoter score has come close, but having been invented over two decades ago, new times warrant additional methods of determining brand valuation.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2021-05-27-gartner-predicts-more-than-75--of-organizations-will-"> Gartner</a> validated this shift in 2021 by predicting that NPS will be obsolete within 75% of organizations by 2025.Recommending a brand is not a complex enough metric on its own to determine a brand's overall worth. Quantifiable brand trust and loyalty have been kicked around as more modernized ways to assess a brand's valuation, particularly as loyalty dissipated during the COVID-19 pandemic, usurped by convenience. Meanwhile as the cost of acquisition continues to rise, retention is a new mandate.Developing the means to quantify a brand's true value is the most important part of a marketing organization that needs to evolve.Some new disruptive thinking on brand value deserves consideration — the power of emotion. While we all know a lot about how customers behave or act, we know little about how they feel.<h2>The power of emotion — the Equinox example</h2>Emotion is the new currency driving quantifiable brand growth. So, what is emotion exactly? It's often defined as instinctive or intuitive feeling as distinguished from reasoning or knowledge. Conventional wisdom holds that thought precedes emotion but in fact, science has consistently proven that emotion precedes thought.Imagine if you could take this thinking even further to precisely score how trusting of and loyal your customers are to your brand to get to a precise total valuation, that is inarguable, no different than the accuracy of a stock's price. One can debate if a stock should trade higher or lower, but what it trades at on a given day based on how the markets are performing is an uncontested benchmark.A great example of a company that reinvented largely around having a deeper emotional understanding of customer needs and loyalty is Equinox.Equinox is built upon getting a consumer to subscribe to them holistically — to derive joy from the brand in some way every day versus just purchasing a membership. The brand has used a mix of innovation and unparalleled customer understanding to do so. As a result, it has become not just a stand-out in the luxury space, but among the most highly regarded brands related to emotional understanding, trust, and loyalty in the world."Equinox pioneered a membership model that is set up to drive loyalty and engagement," Julia Klim, Equinox's VP of strategic partnerships told me."This is done in two ways. A top-down approach enticing emotion via wholly aspirational campaigns."Equinox's "Want It All" campaign exemplifies its emotional approach. "It sold the theme of desire as the engine that drives us all," Klim said."There was also a complementary bottom-down approach, via sophisticated customer segmentation, that allowed us to create a personalized and entirely intuitive customer experience once you join," Klim said. "Another great example of how this played out was using deeper emotional intelligence of customers to help reimagine our personal training offer earlier this year."<h2>AI enables new tools, new ways to measure</h2>AI-enabled tools can deliver actual quantifiable scores around brand trust and loyalty, if they are used in combination with data science and direct human input. This can be done by enriching datasets or creating emotional lookalikes that highlight the "why" that is missing from existing segmentation and most first-party data.At Brandthro, we have created a Net Emotion Score tool using a proprietary AI and data science model to gauge how much brand love customers are feeling at any moment. This calculation is based off of emotional scores that tabulate brand trust and loyalty.Look for emotion to emerge as one of the most vital currencies that can solve the most common CMO pain points: de-risking investment, doing more with less, elevating loyalty, lowering the cost of customer acquisition and generating quantifiable brand value.Billee Howard is CEO of Brandthro.

Emotion could be a better way to measure brand value 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Consultant Rachel Weaven has worked in the HR industry for 20 years.</li><li>She said crying at work isn't always a bad thing but it depends on your office culture.</li></ul>If you've ever cried at work, you are not alone.In a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cry-me-a-river-how-emotions-are-perceived-in-the-workplace-300623153.html">2018 survey</a>, 45% of 1,000 American employees said they had done so.<a target="_blank" href="https://face2facehr.com/consultants/hr-consultant-swindon/">Rachel Weaven</a>, a consultant who has worked in HR for 20 years, said that different offices perceived crying very differently.It's influenced by factors including how experienced your manager is with the situation, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gen-z-and-older-workers-want-pay-advancement-flexibility-2024-5">the generation</a> your colleagues belong to, and the wider culture of the company."If you feel psychologically safe in a company to show emotion, and they support that, you will come out of that a stronger person, whereas there will be other companies where if you show emotions, you're penalized," she added.<h2 id="4dc88e05-f0a6-47f0-9d66-a81bdeaa974b">How crying at work is viewed depends on several factors</h2>The 2018 survey found that 31% of workers and 30% of 2,200 CFOs who were also questioned said that crying at work should not negatively affect someone's standing at work and shows you're human. However, 44% of CFOs and 38% of workers agreed that crying at work was OK "from time to time," but doing it too often could undermine your prospects.The reason you're crying will also influence others' perception of it, Weaven said. Most people will understand crying over a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/grief-emotional-breakdown-at-work-death-of-parent-boss-reaction-2023-9">bereavement</a>, but fewer will sympathize with crying about a work-related problem.Weaven said that crying doesn't have to be seen as negative, as it's not unusual for employees to cry because they're passionate and want to do a good job. "I've seen situations where people have been pulled up on their performance, and they've got upset because they want to do their best. When people care about the work, emotions can come out," she said.A 2016 Harvard Business School <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=51400">study</a> of 240 participants found that those who attributed why they were crying at work to being <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/passion-work-job-identity-dangers-2018-11">passionate about their job</a> were seen as more competent than those who attributed it to being emotional — or those who didn't give a reason at all.<h2 id="61240db3-50c3-4f96-a472-ee499e1e3b7d">What to do if you get emotional at work </h2>If you start to cry at work, Weaven advises taking a breather if possible. "Get away from your desk and try to calm yourself down. Go to a breakout space or the toilets where it's quiet and you can compose yourself. If you can step outside for five or 10 minutes and do some breathing techniques, that will help you refocus," she said.Another factor of how crying at work can be perceived is where you are in the office and who you are with, Weaven told BI.She said, in her experience, crying at work often happens with just one or two other people, such as in a meeting — with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/human-resources">HR or your manager</a> — or with a trusted colleague or two. Weaven recalled being alone in the office with a woman who had just been laid off and was crying. The employee kept apologizing for being <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/things-never-do-work-hr-2024-2">unprofessional</a>. "I thought she shouldn't have to apologize. She'd just had really big news and it was only me and her in the office," Weaven said.If you do find yourself welling up with a larger group, such as a big meeting, Weaven advised trying to leave the room if you can.Whatever the specific situation, Weaven said it's worth acknowledging the reaction with colleagues if you are concerned about how they perceived it. For example, if it was with your manager, you could discuss it with them and explain why you cried."The more they know you and the way that you work, the better they're going to be able to manage you," Weaven added.

Crying at work isn't always a bad thing. An HR expert shares her advice for getting emotional in the office.   

<ul class="summary-list"><li>OpenAI revealed a GPT-4o update to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-chat-gpt-2023-1">ChatGPT</a> that can reason across audio, vision, and text.</li><li>The upgraded chatbot has a human-like ability to mimic dictation, adding humor and voice inflection.</li></ul>OpenAI CEO <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-gpt-4-update-monday-feels-like-magic-sam-altman-2024-5">Sam Altman</a> teased that the new ChatGPT update "feels like magic" — and he wasn't wrong.The AI company basically planted a flag in the sand emblazoned with two words aimed at its Big Tech rivals: your move.OpenAI CTO Mira Murati showed off the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-event-live-updates-sam-altman-announcement-chatgpt-news-2024-5">"Spring Update" to ChatGPT</a> on Monday with a series of live demos. The newest version of the AI chatbot, powered by OpenAI's new flagship AI model GPT-4o, can reason across audio, vision, and text in real time.And it's surprisingly human-like.<h2 id="54fba147-48a5-499c-846a-e83b908e6876">We're getting crazy close to the movie "Her"</h2><div type="image" title="her joaquin phoenix" height="1350" width="2400" msid="110095149" hostid="261" sizebytes="74794"></div>For starters, ChatGPT's voice and conversational abilities took a huge leap forward thanks to GPT-4o, sounding capable of expressing emotion and varying its tone.The new AI has what sounded like the voice of an American female in the demo — think something like Scarlett Johansson in Spike Jonze's movie "Her" — although OpenAI researchers had it switch to a robot voice at one point. An OpenAI spokesperson said the audio output will be limited to a selection of preset voices at launch.The voice didn't just sound human-like. It also displayed an uncanny ability to mimic human dictation. The new ChatGPT giggles, adds humor, and moderates voice inflection depending on the prompts.It seems to also be capable of picking up on some human cues. When a researcher was hyperventilating while practicing deep breathing, the chatbot said, "Mark, you're not a vacuum cleaner."You can also interrupt the chatbot, which makes conversations feel more natural. You don't have to wait for the AI to finish its response before jumping in with a clarifying question or switching the topic.The response time was also lightning-fast. An OpenAI spokesperson said the chatbot can respond to audio inputs at a similar response rate to humans, taking 320 milliseconds on average.Following the event, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-chatgpt-openai-ceo-career-net-worth-ycombinator-prepper-2023-1">OpenAI CEO Sam Altman </a>posted on X, formerly Twitter, with the movie title that was on many people's minds after seeing the demos. <h2 id="9333c991-c674-4178-804a-2bbc5f73bb9a">ChatGPT's eyes also got an upgrade</h2>The chatbot demonstrated elevated abilities to interpret a graph, help with coding, interpret emotions, and essentially tutor users on math equations by viewing video or images shown to a phone's camera.All the while, the voice assistant maintained a lighthearted and cheerful tone.In a separate demo shared online, GPT-4o was even was able to analyze video of the space around a user, taking in that the person was wearing an OpenAI hoodie and surrounded by recording equipment, to guess that the person might be putting together some OpenAI-related announcement. While the chatbot appeared to have a couple of hiccups, such as when it misinterpreted an image prompt or inaccurately started responding before the question was complete, these moments almost made the chatbot seem more human.<h2 id="02719186-42c0-4c5e-a02e-1c3799b1aecc">It all feels more human — and ahead of what we've seen from rivals</h2>In one instance, ChatGPT started responding to a prompt before the researcher showed the equation on the camera, and the researcher stopped the chatbot in its tracks."Whoops, I got too excited," the chatbot responded. "I'm ready when you are."It also seemed to reply with responses that seemed to mimic feelings of appreciation. When the researcher showed the chatbot a picture of writing that said "I heart ChatGPT," it responded with, "aw" and said "that's so sweet of you."In another instance, ChatGPT said the researcher was making it blush when he said he was talking about how "useful and amazing" ChatGPT was.OpenAI made the announcements the day before Google's big summer conference, Google IO, which is expected to reveal the company's progress on its various AI products, like Gemini.But the timing of OpenAI's event — and its impressive demonstrations — will leave AI watchers curious to see if <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-gemini-ai-layoffs-innovation-boring-2024-2">ChatGPT is ahead of Google's Gemini</a>, or if Google has something up its sleeve.But for now, OpenAI's spring update once again demonstrates just how impressive ChatGPT can be, especially when you compare it to the existing voice assistant space.Amazon's Alexa, Apple's Siri, and Google are all on notice. Their voice assistants are known to give robotic and direct responses to questions — far from being truly conversational. The new ChatGPT powered by GPT-4o blows them out of the water with its human-like responses.Apple, for its part, seems aware of the gulf between even older versions of ChatGPT and Siri, with a recent report saying the decision was made to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-siri-generative-ai-improvements-iphone-report-2024-5">overhaul the iPhone voice assistant</a> after Apple executives spent weeks playing around with ChatGPT and the company realized how behind it was. There's also rumors the two companies have been talking, and Apple could end up licensing OpenAI's model for some yet-to-be-announced iPhone features.Apple fans shouldn't have to wait long for more information. The company is expected to unveil its AI updates at Apple's annual <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow sponsored noindex" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=7151be3c72561a63404c373b801a572e96c4b6c9029daa0e3ac74a8c3829c80f&amp;postID=6642479d40541db660cb4dd0&amp;postSlug=chatgpt-gpt-4o-feels-more-human-puts-pressure-tech-rivals-2024-5&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fsg%2Fnewsroom%2F2024%2F03%2Fapples-worldwide-developers-conference-returns-june-10-2024%2F">Worldwide Developers Conference</a> on June 10.Meanwhile, Amazon had plans to release an <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-paid-alexa-plus-service-issues-2024-1">"Alexa Plus"</a> paid version of the voice assistant that's powered by generative AI, Business Insider's Eugene Kim first reported. The assistant is supposed to offer more conversational and personalized responses, but a release date isn't clear.But, just like it did with the first version of Chat GPT, OpenAI once again highlighted just how impressive its tech can be — and is leaving the rest of the tech industry to prove it can play catch up.

ChatGPT just made AI more human, and it should make its rivals nervous

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Dr. Patric Gagne was diagnosed with sociopathic personality disorder in her 20s.</li><li>According to her memoir, she felt there were too few treatment options for sociopaths.</li></ul>All her life, <a target="_blank" href="https://patricgagne.com/">Dr. Patric Gagne</a> had the symptoms of sociopathic personality disorder, but few answers. In her new memoir "<a target="_blank" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=560707be4de36392188d40ebb906327a6f47ba9fa05c68e9ce8cd0a64eca511e&amp;postID=660f073b65b11e73d15cc7ff&amp;postSlug=sociopath-explains-why-personality-disorder-makes-her-a-good-therapist-2024-4&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fexec%2Fobidos%2FASIN%2F166800318X">Sociopath</a>," she <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/things-people-get-wrong-about-sociopath-according-to-sociopathic-therapist-2024-4">detailed her childhood experience</a> of feeling like an outsider and her struggle to find a proper diagnosis and treatment as an adult."Despite the numerous advancements in mental health awareness and treatment options, sociopathy still seemed to be getting ignored," Gagne said in her book.Her experience laid down the perfect foundation for her eventual career as a therapist.After learning that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/health/mental-health/sociopath-vs-psychopath">sociopaths and psychopaths</a> are lumped together under the broad diagnosis "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/health/mental-health/antisocial-personality-disorder">antisocial personality disorder</a>," she sought out a PhD in psychology to better understand the nuances of personality disorders. She discovered that her urges to commit violent or dangerous acts are similar to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subtle-signs-you-might-have-ocd-per-psychologist-2024-3">OCD compulsions</a>, and can be similarly treated with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/health/mental-health/cognitive-behavioral-therapy">cognitive behavioral therapy</a>.Throughout her studies, she grew angrier at how sociopaths are portrayed in the media and not prioritized in mental health spaces. "These were human beings deserving of serious clinical attention," she says. "Instead, they were treated with malevolence and exiled."Gagne said her personal experience and ability to remain emotionally detached made her uniquely qualified to help otherwise maligned patients.<h2>She took on patients no one else wanted to treat</h2>To get her PhD, Gagne had to log 500 hours as a clinic intern — something she objected to, at first, because she was worried her sociopathy would make her a bad therapist.Gagne said she often got patients "who didn't fit neatly into any diagnostic box." They had personality traits she recognized in herself, such as a feeling of emptiness, a history of criminal and violent behavior, and difficulty with impulse control.Once she was licensed, she said she "earned a low-key reputation as 'the sociopath therapist,'" and took on similar patients that her cohorts felt unable to help."My practice was like a psychology speakeasy," she said. "Unlicensed and unorthodox, I welcomed the misfits nobody else wanted to see."<h2>She observed clients without her emotions getting in the way</h2>In the book, Gagne wrote about a time when the head of her PhD department told her that her sociopathy might actually come in handy when dealing with patients."'Half the battle in clinical training is helping trainees compartmentalize their own emotional attachments,'" he said to Gagne before she started her internship. "'But you don't have any!'"After she acclimated to her role at the clinic, she realized that being a sociopath came with strengths. "With my patients, there's no expectation for me to feel or relate or connect or even talk," she said to her dad. "I don't have to do anything but observe."While she could take on a more detached role, she also was able to better understand other sociopaths with time. Even though empathy is one of the emotions sociopaths can't reach, Gagne said she was "flooded with understanding" as she met more and more patients like her.<h2>She'd bend the rules if it helped someone</h2>During her time at the clinic, Gagne had a patient who canceled an appointment — something that was out of character for her.Gagne called her, and she said she was at home. Gagne asked for a photo of her living room."This request was highly unorthodox," Gagne says in the book. "Asking a patient to send me proof of their physical location was inappropriate, especially for an inexperienced therapist. Had my supervisor known, he would have been upset. But he didn't know. And I didn't care."This move prompted her patient to leave wherever she actually was, calling Gagne when she got into her car.While it was far from the first rule Gagne had broken at that point in her life, it was one of the first that benefited someone else.

A sociopathic therapist says her lack of emotions made her good at her job

<keyword id="6355999" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ai" source="Orion">AI</keyword> systems can reliably determine the emotional states of patients as accurately as a psychotherapist, according to research. The face reflects a person's emotional state. The interpretation of facial expressions as part of psychotherapy or psychotherapeutic research, for example, is an effective way of characterising how a person is feeling in that particular moment. But the process of analysing and interpreting recorded facial expressions as part of research projects or psychotherapy is extremely time-consuming, which is why psychiatry specialists often use less reliable, indirect methods such as skin conductance measurements, which can also be a measure of emotional arousal. Researchers at the <keyword id="20016083" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="university-of-basel" source="keywords">University of Basel</keyword> in Switzerland said AI could become an important tool in therapy and research. AI systems could be used in the analysis of existing video recordings from research studies in order to detect emotionally relevant moments in a conversation more easily and more directly. This ability could also help support the supervision of psychotherapists, they noted in the study published in the journal Psychopathology. To determine whether AI systems can reliably determine the emotional states of patients in video recordings, they used freely available artificial neural networks that were trained in the detection of six basic emotions (happiness, surprise, anger, disgust, sadness and fear) using more than 30,000 facial photos. This AI system then analysed video data from therapy sessions with a total of 23 patients with borderline personality pathology. The high-performance computer had to process more than 950 hours of video recordings for this study. The results were astonishing: Statistical comparisons between the analysis of three trained therapists and the AI system showed a remarkable level of agreement, the researchers said. The AI system assessed facial expressions as reliably as a human but was also able to detect even the most fleeting of emotions within the millisecond range, such as a brief smile or expression of disgust. These types of micro expressions have the potential to be missed by therapists or may only be perceived subconsciously. The AI system is therefore able to measure fleeting emotions with an increased level of sensitivity compared to trained therapists. "We were really surprised to find that relatively simple AI systems can allocate facial expressions to their emotional states so reliably," said Dr. <keyword id="20016082" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="martin-steppan" source="keywords">Martin Steppan</keyword>, psychologist at the University's Faculty of Psychology. "Nevertheless, therapeutic work is still primarily about human relationships, and remains a human domain," Steppan said. "At least for the time being." SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/new-creta-to-punch-ev-cars-hitting-indian-market-in-january-2024/slidelist/106479554.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/new-creta-to-punch-ev-cars-hitting-indian-market-in-january-2024/slidelist/106479554.cms" target="_blank">New Creta to Punch EV – Cars hitting Indian market in January 2024</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/upcoming-new-mobile-smartphones-in-india-in-january-2024/slidelist/106312182.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/upcoming-new-mobile-smartphones-in-india-in-january-2024/slidelist/106312182.cms" target="_blank">OnePlus 12 to Redmi Note 13 – New smartphones set to hit Indian market in January</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/upcoming-new-mobile-phones-in-india-in-2024/slidelist/106244996.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/upcoming-new-mobile-phones-in-india-in-2024/slidelist/106244996.cms" target="_blank">Apple vs Samsung vs OnePlus and more – Upcoming smartphones launching in India in 2024</a>

AI can reliably detect emotions at par with psychotherapist: Study

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Carlyle announced that a new chief human resources officer will take over at the firm on Monday.</li><li>Jennifer Barker will become CHRO, taking over from Bruce Larson, who is retiring.</li></ul>Carlyle, the Washington, DC-based alternative asset manager which manages some $382 billion in assets, this week announced that it would install a new chief human resources officer.Jennifer Barker, a partner who's been with Carlyle since 2016 and presently serves as the firm's head of international human resources, will step into the role of chief human resources, taking over for Bruce Larson, formerly a senior human-capital executive at Goldman Sachs who joined Carlyle in 2019, according to a Carlyle regulatory filing. She will start on Monday, a spokesperson for the company told Business Insider.Larson, who is set to step down Friday, introduced a number of workforce-related initiatives during his tenure, which overlapped with the stressful and isolating years of the coronavirus pandemic.For instance, in 2021, the alternative asset manager debuted perks like a $750 "well-being stipend" for many employees, and launched a strategy designed to promote physical, social, and emotional health.Barker is one of several senior female executives elevated to higher-level positions under CEO Harvey Schwartz's tenure, which began nearly a year ago. Others include Lúcia Soares, the firm's chief information officer and head of technology transformation, appointed in July; Eleena Melamed, global chief operating officer of investor relations and head of client strategy, appointed in August; and Meg Starr, formerly Carlyle's global head of impact, who became global head of corporate affairs in December.In a Thursday memo announcing the switch, Schwartz said Barker will report to Christopher Finn, Carlyle's chief operating officer, and take a seat on the firm's leadership and operating committees."One of Bruce's enduring legacies is the outstanding team he has built and nurtured," Schwartz said of Larson. "Jen has been instrumental in working to build Carlyle's collaborative culture," he said of Barker, who will continue to be based in London.In an interview with BI, Barker said she plans to explore how to bring innovation to her job, including through artificial intelligence.The swift advent of artificial intelligence will also create both opportunities and headwinds. "We'll clearly need to put more focus on EQ, things that AI can't replicate, and just making sure that we continue to innovate and to think about where these disruptions can help propel the business," she said.She is also interested in rethinking how companies deliver feedback to their employees, perhaps through the arcane rite of the performance review."We have a workforce now who need more regular feedback, and that's not just the younger elements of the workforce," she explained. "I think that we've got to start mirroring that in our people practices, even just innovation around how we look at data, how we put tools in the hands of people."Do you work in the financial-services sector? Contact this reporter. Reed Alexander can be reached via email at ralexander@insider.com, or SMS/the encrypted app Signal at (561) 247-5758.

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