Book contents
- Empathy and Artificial Intelligence
- Studies in Emotion and Social Interaction
- Empathy and Artificial Intelligence
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- AI and Empathy at a Crossroads
- Part I Understanding Empathy
- Part II Perceiving AI Empathy
- Part III Beyond Text: Embodiment and Robots
- Part IV Moral Implications
- Chapter 20 Contemporary AI and the Value of Empathy
- Chapter 21 Can Empathy Guide Ethical AI?
- Chapter 22 Does AI Need Empathy in Medicine?
- Chapter 23 AI in Healthcare
- Chapter 24 AI, Empathy, and Moral Status
- Chapter 25 AI Should Develop Human Empathy, Not Replace It
- Chapter 26 Practical Capacities, Empathy, and Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence
- Chapter 27 Stories of Empathy
- Index
- Studies In Emotion and Social Interaction
- References
Chapter 22 - Does AI Need Empathy in Medicine?
from Part IV - Moral Implications
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 September 2026
Book contents
- Empathy and Artificial Intelligence
- Studies in Emotion and Social Interaction
- Empathy and Artificial Intelligence
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- AI and Empathy at a Crossroads
- Part I Understanding Empathy
- Part II Perceiving AI Empathy
- Part III Beyond Text: Embodiment and Robots
- Part IV Moral Implications
- Chapter 20 Contemporary AI and the Value of Empathy
- Chapter 21 Can Empathy Guide Ethical AI?
- Chapter 22 Does AI Need Empathy in Medicine?
- Chapter 23 AI in Healthcare
- Chapter 24 AI, Empathy, and Moral Status
- Chapter 25 AI Should Develop Human Empathy, Not Replace It
- Chapter 26 Practical Capacities, Empathy, and Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence
- Chapter 27 Stories of Empathy
- Index
- Studies In Emotion and Social Interaction
- References
Summary
AI developers are beginning to claim that their products have empathy and that this improves their ability to succeed at various tasks, including medical advice and psychotherapy. This chapter argues that AIs can succeed in these practical tasks just as well without real cognitive empathy, affective empathy, or compassion, but they still need an appearance of empathy and motivation to help.
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Empathy and Artificial IntelligenceChallenges, Advances and Ethical Considerations, pp. 215 - 222Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
References
Read, H. (2019). A typology of empathy and its many moral forms. Philosophy Compass, 14(10), e12623.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Robinson, T. E. & Berridge, K. C. (1993). The neural basis of drug craving: An incentive-sensitization theory of addiction. Brain Research Reviews, 18(3), 247–291.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Washington, G. (2022). Why we need empathy in AI. https://transmitter.ieee.org/why-we-need-empathy-in-ai/Google Scholar
Wu, J. (2019). Empathy in artificial intelligence. www.forbes.com/sites/cognitiveworld/2019/12/17/empathy-in-artificial-intelligence/?sh=Google Scholar
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