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
- Chapter 7 Get Real
- Chapter 8 Humans and AIs May Fulfill Different Empathic Needs
- Chapter 9 Empathic AI Will Undermine Human Kindness
- Chapter 10 What LLMpathy Can Tell Us about Received Empathy
- Chapter 11 Machines That Care
- Chapter 12 What’s So Special about Human Empathy?
- Part III Beyond Text: Embodiment and Robots
- Part IV Moral Implications
- Index
- Studies In Emotion and Social Interaction
- References
Chapter 7 - Get Real
from Part II - Perceiving AI Empathy
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 September 2026
By
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
- Chapter 7 Get Real
- Chapter 8 Humans and AIs May Fulfill Different Empathic Needs
- Chapter 9 Empathic AI Will Undermine Human Kindness
- Chapter 10 What LLMpathy Can Tell Us about Received Empathy
- Chapter 11 Machines That Care
- Chapter 12 What’s So Special about Human Empathy?
- Part III Beyond Text: Embodiment and Robots
- Part IV Moral Implications
- Index
- Studies In Emotion and Social Interaction
- References
Summary
We may soon be interacting with AIs that simulate empathy and similar capacities well enough to be indistinguishable from, or even superior to, human companions. This chapter discusses the costs and benefits of such interactions. While there are substantial benefits, I conclude that it is nonetheless better to interact with real individuals than simulated ones—there is an intrinsic value to real human connection.
Information
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Empathy and Artificial IntelligenceChallenges, Advances and Ethical Considerations, pp. 79 - 85Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
References
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