As machines grow better at simulating emotion, are we losing touch with the value of being flawed and human?

Artificial intelligence is advancing at a remarkable pace—especially in its ability to simulate human emotion. But as the output created by machines becomes more convincing, we face a deeper danger: not that AI is becoming more human, but that humans may become less so.

Unlike humans, AI doesn’t feel. Yet it increasingly acts like it does, responding to prompts with empathy-coded language, soothing tones, and even scripted grief. These responses are clean, predictable, and emotionally gratifying. And that’s precisely the problem with them.

Real empathy is rarely convenient. It’s messy, imperfect, and sometimes uncomfortable. As I’ve explored in my book TRANSCEND, empathy isn’t a static........

© Psychology Today