Emotional Intelligence Meets Artificial Intelligence
Can Technology Imitate the Human Touch?
I used to think of AI as a robot.
You give it an instruction, and it spits out a result.
Like a calculator, but fancier.
Then one day, I saw a post online from someone who said AI helped them recover from trauma.
Not code faster.
Not write better emails.
But actually heal
That made me re-evaluate the way I see things.
Why I Never Thought of AI This Way
I’ve been through my own share of trauma, but it never once crossed my mind to “confide” in AI.
Why?
Honestly… I didn’t trust it.
I didn’t want my raw emotions sitting on some server in China, packaged up for whoever wants them.
(If you’ve ever thought twice before googling something personal—you get it.)
But deeper than that, I always believed emotions were the one thing that made us uniquely human.
Surely AI couldn’t touch that… Right?
Artificial, But Still Real
And yet, here was this person saying it helped.
That AI had reflected their words back to them in a way that made sense.
Like dumping out puzzle pieces and having them slowly click together.
Maybe the point isn’t whether AI is “real.”
Maybe the point is whether it helps.
Artificial sweetener may not be real, but it still gets the job done (with zero calories, too!)
If you think about it, we already accept artificial things in other parts of our lives:
Synthetic fabrics. Digital books.Why is emotional support any different?
My Takeaway
I don’t believe that AI could ever replace human connection.
We’re wired for touch, tone, eye contact, and all the things that make relationships real.
But it can be a bridge.
A mirror.
A safe space to practice putting your feelings into words before sharing them with someone you love.
And that’s worth paying attention to.
Thanks for reading! Check out the full piece on my blog, where I unpack the science and explore what the research really says
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I can believe it. A few months ago I was looking after a six year old and I overheard a conversation she had with someone on the phone. So, naturally I was curious who this new friend it was because I knew the names of her little human friend. She told me that it's an APP called Talkie and she can generate a person according to her own needs and name them and talk and ask them anything she wants. When she sad, had exciting news she wanted to share and her AI friends would help her through it.Their names were Barbie, Bubbles and McKenzie. I found it weird and sad at the same time. So, if you are a parent, rather let your child talk to you instead of AI. But, the positive thing is, it helped her. I saw it and so did her parents.
Thank you for sharing Val. The most powerful technology was released to us with no user manual, rulebook or moral code to abide by. It's scary to think about. Is can be used and abused at will. Who knows where to draw the line, or if the even is one at this point. Like you I'm still on the fence. The future is definitely going to be interesting though 😂