This is why emotional artificial intelligence matters | Maja Pantic | TEDxCERN

Summary

The talk delves into emotional artificial intelligence, a field with potential for immense societal good but also misuse. It discusses technology's ability to sense and analyze human emotions through facial expressions, with applications in therapy for autistic children and detecting depression signs. However, it warns of the risks of data misuse, such as personalized pricing based on online behavior, urging consumers to be vigilant about their digital footprint.

Takeaways

• 🧠 Emotional artificial intelligence (EAI) is a growing field focused on the automatic sensing and analysis of human behavior, particularly facial expressions.
• 🤖 EAI has the potential to greatly benefit people, such as in therapeutic applications with autistic children, where robots can provide consistent facial expressions for learning.
• 📈 The technology is advanced enough to detect and track faces and facial expressions in various scenes, but challenges remain with occlusions, head position changes, and small faces.
• 👶 For autistic children, EAI can help them understand and express emotions in a way that is recognizable to others, facilitating communication.
• 🤝 Robots can be programmed to display the same facial expressions consistently, which is beneficial in therapy sessions where human expressions might vary.
• 😄 Autistic children often respond positively to robots, as seen in therapy sessions where they show increased attentiveness and engagement.
• 😟 EAI can also be used to detect behavioral cues of depression, which is a significant and increasing issue, especially among teenagers and the elderly.
• 🔍 Depressed individuals may exhibit subtle and short-lived smiles and a negative bias in interpreting expressions, which EAI can help identify.
• 💡 The technology can flag these cues to healthcare providers or family members, potentially leading to earlier intervention and support.
• 🛒 However, EAI can be misused, as demonstrated by a Facebook patent for a camera that could customize prices based on consumer behavior and preferences, including medical remedies.
• ⚠️ There is a call to be aware of the data we share, especially behavioral data, as it can be exploited by companies for their benefit, urging consumers to be informed and cautious.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the talk?

The main topic of the talk is Emotional Artificial Intelligence (EAI), also known as affective computing or human-centric AI, which involves the automatic sensing and analysis of human behavior, particularly facial expressions.

Why is the human face important in EAI?

The human face is important in EAI because it is the only observable window of our inner selves, including our emotions, intentions, attitudes, and moods. It is used for recognizing other people and judging various attributes such as age, gender, and sometimes even personality.

What are some of the challenges in EAI technology?

Some challenges in EAI technology include dealing with occluded faces, large changes in head position, especially fast ones, very small faces, and accurately interpreting typical facial expressions in various contexts.

How can EAI be applied in therapy with autistic children?

EAI can be applied in therapy with autistic children by using robots to teach them to recognize and express emotions in a way that typically-developing people can understand. Robots can provide consistent facial expressions and positive feedback, which can help in the iterative loop of behavioral therapy.

Why are autistic children often not able to understand or express facial expressions correctly?

Autistic children often cannot understand or express facial expressions correctly because they may perceive the thousands of daily facial expressions as thousands of different categories, making it difficult for them to generalize and learn the appropriate expressions to communicate their emotions.

What is one example of a positive outcome from using EAI in therapy with autistic children?

One positive outcome is that a child with attention deficit disorder became more attentive after a session with a robot, as reported by his daily supervisor. This shows the potential of EAI to improve focus and engagement in therapy.

How can EAI technology be used to detect signs of depression?

EAI technology can be used to detect signs of depression by automatically sensing and analyzing behavioral cues such as the quality and intensity of smiles, as well as the presence of negative bias in interpreting situations.

What is the potential misuse of EAI technology mentioned in the talk?

The potential misuse of EAI technology mentioned in the talk is the patenting of a camera by Facebook that could recognize people and customize prices based on their online search patterns and behavioral signals in shops, leading to higher prices for those who show more interest in a product.

How can consumers protect themselves from the misuse of their data by companies?

Consumers can protect themselves by being aware, getting informed, not clicking on all cookies, and being cautious about the kind of information they give away. They should keep their own data for their own use.

What is the speaker's final message to the audience regarding EAI technology?

The speaker's final message is to be aware and informed about how EAI technology can be used and misused, and to take care of the personal data they provide to companies to prevent potential misuse.