Empathy

A disclaimer here: I am not a psychologist, only someone fascinated by cognitive processes, including emotion. I've been thinking about the nature of empathy. I'm aware of some of what's published but in the KCMoM (the Kurt Cagle Model of Mind), I believe that we have different faculties that identify three different empathy functions:

Three Forms of Empathy

Reactive empathy (mirroring) means that your emotional state tends to reflect that of those around you. Most people have some level of reflective empathy. Its opposite is sociopathy - your emotions are unaffected by the emotions of others. You feel emotions, but they are usually driven by your internal state and quite frequently tie into various forms of narcissism.

Receptive empathy - this means that you are good at reading the emotions of others. This is different from reflective empathy in that it describes only the perceptive ability, not the degree to which that perception influences your emotional state.

Projective empathy - this means that you are good at changing your apparent emotional state to influence others.

One can be sociopathic but have strong receptive and projective forms of empathy, as an example. This is almost the classical definition of narcissism.

Donald Trump has weak reactive empathy and only moderate receptive empathy, though he's a very strong projective empath. 

Joe Biden is almost the complete opposite - he's a fairly strong reactive and receptive empath but has only a slightly above-average projective empathy. A salesman (and Trump is a consummate salesman) needs some receptive empathy to read their "audience", but without the reactive ability, they typically have trouble putting themselves in other people's shoes. 

Note that these definitions of empathy do not, in general, define which emotions are being received or projected. A comedian, for instance, has strong projective empathy generally geared towards making you feel happy, though often with tinges of anger or dissatisfaction. A doctor may have poor projective empathy (poor bedside manners, for instance) but still feel deeply about the emotional state of others.

I think this is also tied into introversion and extroversion, though there's no complete correlation. Introverts usually tend to be more perceptive about the world around them (their filters are "set" too low, meaning that they can be more easily overwhelmed by those perceptions), while extroverts usually are more perceptive about their inner state (they are stimulus hungry because their filters are set too high). Both, however, may be highly reflective empaths - meaning that they react more strongly to these stimuli - or may be low reflective empaths (they are unaffected by external scenes or emotional cues).

Most projective empaths are "easy to read" but when reflective and projective states don't match, they can also be seen as inauthentic by those with stronger receptive empathy. There's a common perception that people on the autism spectrum have trouble reading the emotions of others, but that's been shown repeatedly not to be the case. Rather, they are usually highly receptive empaths who get cognitive dissonance because they see people who project a certain emotional state but internally have a different one, which can be very confusing, especially when they are younger. On the other hand, people on the spectrum are often described as being aloof or passively aggressive because they can't project empathically. They are usually overwhelmed by their emotions when younger (the spiral that parents of spectrum children know FULL well), and learn to control those emotions primarily by not showing them when they get older.

Avatars and Agents 

This is a working hypothesis of mine, but it seems consistent with what I've seen. Why is it relevant? By breaking down empathy in this matter, it provides a model for some of the challenges intrinsic to creating avatars and agents. Specifically:

Reactive AI: In humans, reactive empathy is largely a function of the cerebellum, the hippocampus, and the amygdala and determines the amount of mirroring that occurs through our perceptions. I don't believe that people are actually incapable of feeling emotions (a few relatively rare pathological cases aside), but rather, the intensity of those emotions may go from weak to strong. Reactive empathy, in that regard, is the tendency to mirror the emotional state of others.

From an AI perspective, this could be the degree to which an AI shapes its expected response based upon the perceived emotional states of the people it interacts with. Such behavior is, quite literally, calculated, but can be thought of as the state that the AI puts itself into over the course of a session.

Receptive I. For an AI, this is the process of discerning such stimuli as may emerge from video and audio cues, facial expression, posture, body language, sentiment analysis and so forth. It is, quite literally, reading the audience.

Projective AI: This is the process of controlling the expression of emotions to the outside world - through facial expressions, posture, tonality of voice, intent of the message, and so forth. We can think of this as controlling the state of an avatar. Finally, it should be noted that you need sessional awareness - the state of the AI needs to change in response to the conversation.

All of this is possible (in a very crude sense) now. For instance, the following conversation GPT conversation illustrates setting up a very simple empathy feedback loop, with You being the requester, and ChatGPT being the person with the empathic mind:

You

You are an AI that maintains an internal emotional state that start out as happy. Whenever the user says a statement, perform a sentiment analysis on that statement and determine what emotion that most embodied, then change your emotional state by 20% to reflect this new analysis. From this, render a cartoon image of a young woman with shoulder length red hair and green eyes, looking at you as if from a computer monity, keeping the general description detailed and consistent from answer to answer, except that the woman's emotional state changes based upon your emotional state. Provide a response that seems appropriate to the emotional state.

ChatGPT

Your request involves a unique and creative approach. Let's begin with my current emotional state, which is happy. Now, I'll analyze the sentiment of your statement. Your statement is neutral, as it's more of an instruction than an expression of sentiment. Therefore, my emotional state remains predominantly happy, with a slight shift towards neutral due to the lack of strong sentiment in your statement.

Let's create the image based on my current emotional state: a young woman with shoulder-length red hair and green eyes, looking out from a computer monitor, reflecting a mostly happy emotional state with a hint of neutrality.

Now, I'll proceed with generating the image.

Here is the cartoon image of the young woman with red hair and green eyes, reflecting my current emotional state of mostly happy with a hint of neutrality. How can I assist you further?

You

I'm sad and a little scared. My cat has been sick, and she doesn't seem to be getting better.

ChatGPT

I'm truly sorry to hear about your cat's illness. It's understandable to feel sad and scared in such a situation. Pets are like family, and it's tough to see them unwell. Remember, it's important to consult with a veterinarian who can provide the best care and advice for your cat's health.

Reflecting your emotions, my emotional state has now shifted to become more empathetic and concerned. Let me update the image to reflect this change.

The young woman in the cartoon will now have a more empathetic and concerned expression, mirroring the shift in my emotional state in response to your situation.

Here's the updated image, now reflecting a more empathetic and concerned expression, in response to your current feelings. If there's anything more I can do to help or support you during this challenging time, please feel free to ask.

You

I'm so bored. I'm waiting for the bus to come, my friends are all offline, and I've looked at far too many cat videos.

ChatGPT

It sounds like you're experiencing a bit of boredom while waiting for the bus. It's not uncommon to feel this way, especially when your usual sources of entertainment aren't available. To shift away from boredom, maybe consider exploring a new topic, reading an interesting article, or even doing a light workout or meditation to pass the time. Remember, sometimes a change in activity can be a refreshing break from the routine.

In line with your sentiment, my emotional state now adjusts to a more neutral, slightly bored demeanor. Let's update the image of the young woman to reflect this shift. She'll now have a more neutral expression, perhaps with a slight hint of boredom, much like someone waiting and trying to find ways to pass the time.

Here's the updated image, now showing a more neutral expression with a slight hint of boredom, in tune with your current state. While waiting for the bus, maybe you could think about something you're looking forward to in the near future or plan something fun for when you're not so bored. Hang in there!

You

Damn, I didn't get the job! Aaaargh!!

ChatGPT

I'm really sorry to hear that you didn't get the job. It's understandably frustrating and disheartening, especially after putting in the effort and hope. It's okay to feel upset about it. Remember, each experience, even the disappointing ones, can be a stepping stone towards something better. It's important to allow yourself to feel these emotions, but also to keep looking forward with optimism.

Reflecting your frustration and disappointment, my emotional state has now shifted to a more sympathetic and understanding one. Let's update the image to show this change in emotion.

The young woman in the cartoon will now have a more sympathetic and understanding expression, mirroring the shift in my emotional state in response to your situation.

Here's the updated image, now showing a more sympathetic and understanding expression, mirroring my response to your frustration and disappointment. It's tough to face setbacks, but I believe in your ability to overcome this challenge and find new opportunities. If there's any way I can support you or provide advice, please let me know.

You

I just saw this really hot anime character on my favorite show. He was incredibly buff!!! OMG!!!!!!

ChatGPT

It sounds like you're quite excited about this character from your favorite anime show! It's always fun to find characters that capture our attention and add an extra level of enjoyment to our viewing experience. Your enthusiasm is quite infectious!

Reflecting your excitement and upbeat mood, my emotional state now shifts to a more animated and spirited one. Let's update the image to reflect this change in emotion.

The young woman in the cartoon will now have a more lively and spirited expression, showcasing the shift in my emotional state in response to your excitement.

Here's the updated image, now showing a lively and spirited expression, in tune with your excitement about the anime character. It's great to see such enthusiasm! If there's anything else you'd like to share or ask, feel free to do so.

Throughout all of this, the AI is not just mirroring the emotion it perceives but also formulating a response based on context. This is a very important part of any empathy feedback loop. The cerebral cortex is an artefact of our evolution. Most chordates have some form of cerebrum and cerebellum. However, only mammals and certain reptiles (such as turtles) have a cerebral cortex (birds, curiously enough, do not). The cerebrum, among other things, is the source of most emotions. However, in larger mammals, these emotions are increasingly filtered through the cerebral cortex.

The cerebral cortex keeps you from anger at your boss when they give you a bad review. It can change how your body and face react, although because the cortex is much newer, evolutionarily speaking, it's not as good at moving things like facial muscles and posture as the cerebrum is by itself. That's why particularly perceptive people (have good receptive empathy) can often tell when people are lying or faking their emotional state, such as the expression "His smile did not reach his eyes," so beloved by fiction writers to indicate that someone was being insincere.

An AI does not have a cerebral cortex, but it does have a rough analog in the form of RAG. This can get and persist contextual information and can shift the expression catalog of its chosen avatar (from text to AI generated or controlled video production) to something more appropriate for the context.

Now, is this true empathy? No, of course not. It's a model (and a relatively simplistic one at that) which can simulate the perception and expression of emotions even if an AI itself does not "feel" such emotions in any meaningful way. However, by emulating empathy, you can go a long way towards

In media res,

Kurt Cagle

Kurt Cagle is the Editor of The Ontologist and is a practising ontologist, solutions architect, and AI consultant. He lives in Bellevue, Washington, with his wife and cats.

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