Development of empathy through Socioemotional Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

It is expected that in the near future robots will be increasingly involved in social roles, however, understanding how students learn empathic skills, and how technology can support this process, is an important but under-researched area in artificial intelligence. This paper analyzes the factors that contribute to the development of empathy from early childhood and the variables of robotic empathy that could help promote this learning. It has been found that social emotional artificial intelligence (SEAI) has already successfully implemented some of the human mechanisms of empathy that are present during the first years of life. The current state of SEAI research is far from achieving full empathic capacity, but it can provide useful tools to promote empathic skills, the basis of social cooperation and ethical and prosocial behavior, from childhood.