Siri may be a great listener, but it just can’t understand how you feel. Soon, it might. Based on research that acoustic patterns can be used to determine depression levels, researchers from the University of Maryland are aspiring to make Siri-like interactive technology that could provide users with regular feedback on their mental health. Interestingly, Siri has aided the emotional development of some autistic children and similar audio-interactive technologies are in development to support those with autism.
The new Samaritans app uses language and sentiment recognition tech to support their work in the mental health field. Samaritans Radar targets and aids potentially suicidal individuals, mining twitter accounts for potential red flag tweets that suggest extreme depression (although the app has been met with a lot of backlash).
New next-gen 3-D camera technology uses facial scanning technology to detect and read expressions and guess how users are feeling. The gaming industry is excited at the potential for a game-world to evolve in real time, based on the joys, frustrations and terrors of the player.
These developments hint at a future where our emotions can be tracked with the same ease as our physical fitness. Our devices won’t just be smart: they’ll be emotionally intelligent.
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