1. Emotion and Affect in Computing CHID 370/COM 302 Winter 2007

2. Opening Pandora’s Box Step 1-The bomb and the technological consequences Step 2-Technology and market society contribute to make the “real” and “virtual” indistinguishable (in some cases) Step 3-Understanding the dynamics of extensively linked human and computer systems

3. New understandings Step 4-Computers help us understand dynamics beyond our scale of comprehension –New Spaces-Networks and power laws –New Times-Simulation and emergent properties

4. A “feeling” for the future New understandings of the world call for new conceptions of “the human” –Understanding the depth of our interdependence on the world and technological objects –Which technologies? –And how do we use them? –Is this purely a rational decision?

5. Intelligence? Deep Blue (1997)-Chess playing –Once the paradigm for thinking about artificial intelligence –Baroque systems more of interest –Rodney Brooks “Elephants don’t play chess” “ You know, when Gary Kasparov was beaten by Deep Blue, he said, "Well, at least it didn't enjoy beating me." I certainly think, as most molecular biologists think, that we are fundamentally machines. We're made out of bio- molecules that interact in a rule-like manner. So if we are emotional machines, then I don't see any reason, in principle, why we can't build silicon and steel machines that have emotions.” –How do we build back up?

6. Emotions? Will there be computers with emotions? Is it fair to expect other aspects of the world to feel things the way that we do? How do you understand feeling beyond a human dimension? In Woodward, emotions serve as a means of coupling self to world--what are the ways that technological objects couple self to world?

7. Affect The capacity to affect or be affected Not just emotions but the capacity to feel and express them Descartes-clear and distinct reasoning –Clear mind and body split Spinoza-mind and body are substance –Reasoning needs the body Many functions take place at a pre-cognitive level

8. Mike the Headless Chicken 1945-46 http://www.miketheh eadlesschicken.org/

9. Role of affect in decision making Need to feel before one can think –Having an emotion tells one about one’s relationship to the world Fear Information not just from messages-from emotional cues –Inflection of voice –Gestures –Empathy

10. Affective Computing Computers are limited as thinking machines if they don’t possess the ability to recognize emotions Registering and responding to an emotion is affect (although not sentience) Rosalind Picard, Head of MIT’s affective computing group

11. Goals of affective computing Make computers better social decision makers –Voice message hears your frustration Act as emotion communicators –An affect “phone” would register your feelings and communicate them to your partner Help understand the complexity of human affect

12. Projects First pattern and motion recognition Trisk

13. Putting it together Kismet

14. Response

15. Emotion

16. Proto conversation

17. Not purely comforting irobot corp. http://www.irobot.com/ Re-inscribes old relationships between the Department of Defense and AI Military Industrial Complex Military Entertainment Complex Military Domestic Complex?

18. Ideas Understand how emotions couple us to the world Use emotions in our own “navigation” of informational technologies in tandem with the rational... Think of them as separate stages in making a decision –Analogous to writing a paper Use computers to feel the world, I.e. to increase understanding