Può il computer emozionarsi? Macchine e intelligenza emotiva

Cognitivism and connectionism, two major paradigms of the mind from the latter half of the 20th century, share a common limitation: they abstract the mind from its "embodied" and "situated" context, thereby perpetuating the mind-body dichotomy. In response, some forms of connectionism, particularly within evolutionary robotics, are moving toward an explicitly embodied and situated perspective on cognitive processes. A key area of this research is affective computing, which seeks to create artificial systems capable of empathetic interaction. While current emotional machines can detect an interlocutor's emotional state, they lack the ability to respond with genuine emotional intelligence and competence in complex situations. The ultimate success of this research depends on equipping neural networks with a biologically plausible sensorimotor apparatus that can not only recognize emotions but also authentically "participate" in them. New technologies are being developed to make this possibility far from remote.