Robots as Emotional Sentient Being — Artificial Intelligence and Social Robots
Notable AI scientist and spiritual leader Dr. Amit Ray said, “ The primary aim of quantum artificial intelligence is to improve human freedom, dignity, equality, security, and total well-being.”
In the book, Compassionate Artificial Intelligence, Amit Ray explained various AI and related technologies for building future harmonious, peaceful, intelligent and compassionate society.
People may feel anger, fear or hatred toward robots. But what about robots being emotional and sentient like our own kids. Recently, I am associated with a social robot project. I am looking after the emotional aspects of the project. Robots should not only look like a human but also feel like a human too. Now robots can perceive emotions via facial recognition, vocal cues and body movements. They can also respond to human in a kind way. However, there are many issues and challenges.
Capabilities of present day AI software like Alexa and Siri are very limited. For human there are six basic emotions: joy, sadness, anger, surprise, disgust, and fear. Can robots have natural emotions like human? Robots that can understand emotions, and even feel for themselves are the key area of emotional robot projects.
Emotional Robots
Emotional social robot have a number of critical functions, including developing intelligent behavior and developing connection with the human emotions. Darwinian theory says we’re born with emotional capability. Which means emotions are ‘hard-wired’ rather than learned in human system. Here, robots take their decisions based on their internal feelings and emotions. Emotional robots are not like servant but should be like friend philosopher and guide.
Human emotions are driving factors of human decision-making. They originate because of external environmental factors and internal memory state.
“Compassionate Artificial Intelligence can transform and heal the world from much deeper sense. They can add values and transform our world, our families, our workplaces, and our communities.” — Amit Ray
Emotions and Intelligence
Modern Artificial Intelligence systems are deeply intertwined with emotion — because without emotion it is not intelligence. Emotion is just the upper layer in the path of rational decision making process of deep learning algorithms.
Modern robots are not just heartless, logical creatures with “trial and error” learning algorithms with massive computational power. They must care about some things more than others. Though artificial intelligence and neural networks are making robots smarter and more autonomous every day, robots are not likely to seem human — and make decision like humans — until they feel emotion. It is not just humanizing human-robot interactions but adding something deeper values. It is not perceive robots as having “emotions” when, in reality, those “emotions” are just mathematically modeled. It should be something more that that — interacting with humans in a more natural way.
Emotional Robot Models
Traditionally, there are three types of emotional robot models: neurobiological inspiration models, psychological models, and data-driven models.
- Neurobiological Models of Emotional Robots
In neurobiological models, the modelling of emotions are done through different computational constructs associated with structures from the central nervous system such as the amygdala, prefrontal cortex and the hypothalamus.
2. Psychological Models of Emotional Robots
In psychological models, the modelling of emotions are done through the concept of “illusion of life.” It is developing believable character robots that provides the illusion of life. Such as, the robots must have expressive eyes and insists that actuated pupils help convey life through the expression of the eyes. Every motion of the robot must be expressive not just logical movement from one place to the next place. Expressive motion is to express how the robot is feeling.
3. Data-driven Emotional Robots.
These are more simplistic robots primary objective to do certain jobs. There are three parts in these types of models: Intent Planning, Behavior Planning, and Behavior Realization.
Final Thoughts:
We are entering an amazing new era for robotics, and AI. The deployment of emotional robots posing difficult challenge to the research community, in terms of performance and reliability of the systems and in terms of the validity, and appropriateness of the emotional models adopted and expressions rendered. Emotional social robots will take some time to catch but compassion must be the part of the social robots.
