DOMINIC W. MASSARO, editor
University of California, Santa Cruz

The Design of Emotionally Intelligent Machines

Emotions in Humans and Artifacts
Edited by Robert Trappl, Paolo Petta, and Sabine Payr. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2003. 390 pp. Cloth, $50.

A quiet revolution in emotion theory is under way, driven by the increasing sophistication of technology and machine intelligence. Several converging trends are reshaping our understanding of emotion in both humans and artificial systems. First, in cognitive science, modeling techniques are becoming more powerful. Emotions may be treated as attributes of autonomous robots interacting intelligently with changing external environments. Indeed, in line with functional analyses of emotion, programming emotions may assist the robot to operate more adaptively. Second, there is increasing recognition of the emotionally charged nature of human-machine interaction. Usability of computer applications in part reflects whether they are engaging or irritating, and so designers look to produce technology with a pleasing "personality." Third, programs that simulate emotional expression are becoming increasingly lifelike. Soon, it may be difficult to tell whether a person in a film or computer game is real or artificial. Technological advances are both a source of inspiration for theory and a source of applied questions that challenge current understanding.