[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":304},["ShallowReactive",2],{"slug-algorithms-robots-mimic-empathy":3},{"post":4,"relatedPosts":183,"relatedBooks":303},{"id":5,"date":6,"date_gmt":7,"guid":8,"modified":10,"modified_gmt":11,"slug":12,"status":13,"type":14,"link":15,"title":16,"content":18,"excerpt":21,"author":23,"featured_media":24,"comment_status":25,"ping_status":25,"sticky":26,"template":27,"format":28,"meta":29,"categories":30,"tags":34,"project_category":47,"contact_email_category":48,"yst_prominent_words":49,"class_list":60,"better_featured_image":82,"acf":119,"yoast_meta":128,"_links":130},16375,"2017-09-28T16:38:39","2017-09-28T14:38:39",{"rendered":9},"http:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002F?p=16375","2022-05-17T13:56:19","2022-05-17T11:56:19","algorithms-robots-mimic-empathy","publish","post","https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Falgorithms-robots-mimic-empathy",{"rendered":17},"Should Algorithms and Robots Mimic Empathy?",{"rendered":19,"protected":20},"\n\u003Ctable style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #eee; border-top: 4px solid #444;\" cellpadding=\"5px\">\n\u003Ctbody>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd style=\"width: 100%;\">\n\u003Cp style=\"color: #555;font-size: 12px;line-height: 14px\">THIS ARTICLE HAS NOT BEEN UPDATED SINCE 2017. THE INFORMATION SHARED IN THE ARTICLE WAS ACCURATE AT THE TIME OF ITS PUBLICATION, BUT IT MAY BE OUT OF DATE NOW. \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fmagazine\">BROWSE OUR LATEST ARTICLES HERE\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\n\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003C\u002Ftbody>\u003C\u002Ftable>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Robots telling jokes and chatbots acting as life coaches sound astounding and terrifying at the same time. Extensive research is going on lately in the field of applying human features, emotions, gestures, and reactions to digital technology; and it raises thousands of questions. Could not only smart, but emotional algorithms or robots appear also in healthcare soon? Would there be a place or need for them? How would it impact the patient-doctor relationship or social interactions in general?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003C!--more-->\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>The human touch is indispensable in medicine\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>In the last weeks, I decided to test \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwoebot.io\u002F\">Woebot\u003C\u002Fa>, a little algorithmic assistant aiming to improve mood. It promises to meaningfully connect with you, to show bits and pieces of empathy while giving you a chance to talk about your troubles and have some counseling back in return. Just as a human psychologist does.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>At first, it was weird for me to imitate a conversation with a chatbot personalized into a robot, as I was very aware of the fact that I’m chatting with a programmed answering machine. Sometimes I found it amusing, it even had some uplifting words of wisdom to offer, but there was also a day when I thought how sad it would have been if I only had talked to Woebot that day. I could have thought that I’m so lonely and miserable that my sole companion is a chatbot. That day, it clearly failed. Utterly. It could not make me believe that it’s a viable alternative to a human. But the question is: should it make me believe in that?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>The human touch is the key part of practicing medicine. It is an integral part of the patient-doctor relationship, where patients feel that they are taken care of by a fellow human being, they are not alone in need. There is someone who not only understands their problem cognitively and offers a solution, but can easily “get into the other person’s shoes” in the first place. Research proves that this ability significantly boosts the healing process. For example, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002Fpubmed\u002F22836852\">diabetes patients who had compassionate physicians\u003C\u002Fa> had a lower rate of disease complications than their peers. People who caught a common cold, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002Fpubmed\u002F21300514\">perceived their condition less severe\u003C\u002Fa> when they encountered an empathic medical professional.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>We are social beings; we need a caregiver to tell us everything is going to be fine. But then the question arises. Why are we building chatbots like Woebot, virtual assistants like Nadia or robots like \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fbigthink.com\u002Fphilip-perry\u002Fcan-ai-develop-empathy\">Nao or Pepper\u003C\u002Fa>?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>Is there a place for mimicking empathy in healthcare?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>At the dawn of modern healthcare, around the turn of the 18\u003Csup>th\u003C\u002Fsup> century, medical professionals started to alienate themselves from the patients not looking at them as persons, rather as symptom carrying medical cases to solve with the help of science. French philosopher, Michel Foucault even dedicated a book to explaining what happened around \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FBirth-Clinic-Routledge-Classics\u002Fdp\u002F0415307724\">the birth of the modern clinic\u003C\u002Fa>. It has been a dehumanizing process for both patients and doctors. People with problems are considered as just (statistical) numbers and symptoms in crowded waiting rooms, while doctors have only a few minutes for each patient on average and have to go on with their packed schedule as soon as possible. Thus, it is not surprising that patients experiencing grumpy doctors try to turn to empathy coming from someplace else, and digital technology tries to tap into that existing gap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>And why do medical professionals have so little time for patients? They are suffering from the burden of administration, hideous monotonous tasks and the lack of colleagues. Doctor shortages are global phenomena. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there is a worldwide shortage of around 4.3 million physicians, nurses, and allied health workers. At the same time, the need for healthcare services is rising: illnesses are becoming easier to catch, civilizational diseases such as diabetes and obesity is on the rise and aging societies need more and more care. So medical virtual assistants, healthcare chatbots or humanoid robots with a pinch of empathy seize the moment and claim their places as new helpers of medical professionals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"870\" height=\"489\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002F1712507217.rsc.cdn77.org\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F09\u002Fmimicking-empathy.png\" alt=\"Empathy\" class=\"wp-image-16376\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F09\u002Fmimicking-empathy.png 870w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F09\u002Fmimicking-empathy-370x208.png 370w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F09\u002Fmimicking-empathy-768x432.png 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F09\u002Fmimicking-empathy-512x288.png 512w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F09\u002Fmimicking-empathy-444x250.png 444w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>How would technology with emotional intelligence change social relations?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Looking at the practical side and the harsh facts, it seems that digital technologies being able to reach out to patients through empathy and compassion should have a place in healthcare. Although from the perspective of the human-technology relationship as well as the interactions between humans themselves, it’s more problematic. Would patients trust or accept AI-based robots or chatbots as their companions during hard times? As the brilliant movie, \u003Cem>Ex Machina\u003C\u002Fem> asked the question, would you believe it if a robot could show authentic emotion?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>And what is the psychological or individual reason why we want to program robots and algorithms to emit human emotions? Is it a further step of estrangement and alienation in an already estranged world full of smartphones and televisions? Does it become so difficult to reach out to real people and engage in meaningful relations that the solution seems to be to build an echo of the human emotional spectrum? Is it a coincidence that research and development into empathic and emotionally charged robots are the most advanced in Japan where over \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bloomberg.com\u002Fnews\u002Farticles\u002F2017-09-21\u002Flove-sex-and-japan-a-scary-virtual-culture-of-submissive-women\">60 percent of unmarried people aged between 18 and 34 have no relationship\u003C\u002Fa> with a member of the opposite sex? Might future generations grow up with empathic robots and emotional algorithms? Do we want to create technology so emotionally intelligent that they will not be able to tell the difference between a human and non-human apology anymore?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"870\" height=\"489\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002F1712507217.rsc.cdn77.org\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F09\u002Fcustomers-at-a-softbank-corp.-store-as-pre-order-for-pepper-robot-begins.jpg\" alt=\"Empathy\" class=\"wp-image-16378\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F09\u002Fcustomers-at-a-softbank-corp.-store-as-pre-order-for-pepper-robot-begins.jpg 870w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F09\u002Fcustomers-at-a-softbank-corp.-store-as-pre-order-for-pepper-robot-begins-370x208.jpg 370w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F09\u002Fcustomers-at-a-softbank-corp.-store-as-pre-order-for-pepper-robot-begins-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F09\u002Fcustomers-at-a-softbank-corp.-store-as-pre-order-for-pepper-robot-begins-512x288.jpg 512w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F09\u002Fcustomers-at-a-softbank-corp.-store-as-pre-order-for-pepper-robot-begins-444x250.jpg 444w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>Technology has not reached the stage for developing empathic algorithms yet\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>There are so many ethical, moral questions and possible outcomes regarding empowering technology with humanoid features. However, time is pressing for figuring out our possible responses and attitudes towards emotionally intelligent machines, as experiments for modeling human emotions with the help of machines is on-going and there are already amazing results!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Japanese company \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.weforum.org\u002Fagenda\u002F2015\u002F02\u002Fcan-we-ever-build-a-robot-with-empathy\u002F\">SoftBank is unveiling a robot\u003C\u002Fa> that can tell a joke and converse in four languages. Another Japanese venture, AIST developed the \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.parorobots.com\u002F\">PARO interactive robot\u003C\u002Fa> allowing the documented benefits of animal therapy. It comes in the shape of a baby harp seal covered with soft artificial fur to make people feel comfortable as if they are touching a real animal. This therapeutic robot has been found to reduce the stress factor experienced both by patients and by their caregivers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Mark Sagar and his team at Soul Machines is working on the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bloomberg.com\u002Fnews\u002Ffeatures\u002F2017-09-07\u002Fthis-startup-is-making-virtual-people-who-look-and-act-impossibly-real\">BabyX project\u003C\u002Fa>, a virtual baby powered by AI modeled according to the already known workings of the human organism. When BabyX smiles, it’s because her simulated brain has responded to stimuli by releasing a cocktail of virtual dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin into her system. This is part of Sagar’s larger quest, using AI to reverse-engineer how humans work. It is simply amazing! Their ultimate aim is to build virtual assistants able to mimic humanoid features, as in the case of the above-mentioned Nadia project. Yet, if I look at the struggles and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.theguardian.com\u002Faustralia-news\u002F2017\u002Fsep\u002F22\u002Fndia-denies-cate-blanchett-voiced-nadia-virtual-assistant-is-in-doubt\">challenges around Nadia\u003C\u002Fa> or my experiences with Woebot, I have to recognize that there are still several years until technology reaches the point where mimicking empathy by machines becomes possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"870\" height=\"634\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002F1712507217.rsc.cdn77.org\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F09\u002Fbabyx-project.jpg\" alt=\"empathy\" class=\"wp-image-16379\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F09\u002Fbabyx-project.jpg 870w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F09\u002Fbabyx-project-768x560.jpg 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F09\u002Fbabyx-project-512x373.jpg 512w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F09\u002Fbabyx-project-343x250.jpg 343w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px\" \u002F>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>Learning interactive patterns through virtual reality\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Although digital technology is not yet able to show soft skills such as compassion to a credible extent, it can help real people practicing their own. \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.upworthy.com\u002Fhow-do-you-make-a-young-doctor-really-understand-what-its-like-being-74-virtual-reality?c=huf1\">Embodied Labs created “We Are Alfred”\u003C\u002Fa> by using VR technology to show young medical students what aging means. Everyone can be the hypothetical Alfred for 7 minutes, and experience how it feels like to live as a 74-year-old man with audio-visual impairments. The developers’ ultimate goal is to solve the disconnection between young doctors and elderly patients due to their huge age difference.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Researchers at the University of Michigan and Medical Cyberworlds, Inc., \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.upi.com\u002FHealth_News\u002F2017\u002F04\u002F27\u002FDoctors-use-virtual-humans-to-teach-medical-students-empathy\u002F8821493295853\u002F\">used the virtual human technology called MPathic-VR\u003C\u002Fa>, a computer application, which allows students to talk with emotive, computer-based virtual humans who can see, hear and react to them in real-time. Thus, they can practice and develop their empathic side, so if they had to deliver bad news about a condition to a family or the patient itself, they would already know how to communicate it better.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\u003Cdiv class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n\u003Ciframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"We Are Alfred - Embodied Labs\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FpOW7oG6bIFI?start=6&feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen>\u003C\u002Fiframe>\n\u003C\u002Fdiv>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Yet, this might just be the logical next step in the process. Here, virtual humans having a limited number of options for human interactions are teaching real people. What if the next time, those virtual humans will directly deliver messages to patients? Would that be so much different than hearing the same message from a human – who learned its interactive pattern from a virtual reality platform? And looking at the set of problems from another side: when a doctor forces himself\u002Fherself to show empathy, is it better than when a robot or algorithm does the same?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>What happens when patients realize the empathy they receive is not real?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>My opinion might be controversial here, but I think what really matters is what the patient feels. If a patient’s journey is facilitated either by a compassionate physician or an algorithm that makes them feel the same, healthcare does its job.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>What is important for patients, medical professionals, as well as tech companies, is to realize that artificial emotions cannot replace human interaction, empathy, and compassion. But a coded gesture coming from a machine might reach its goal to temporarily offer comfort, especially when its limitations are fully acknowledged and accepted. So, if you don’t expect the machine to act like a real human with unique reactions but rather as a programmed robot with guessable responses and gestures, you cannot get disappointed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fthemedicalfuturist.us8.list-manage.com\u002Fsubscribe?u=5b42ebb547c75ff669a6572d3&id=efd6a3cd08\">\u003Cb>Subscribe To The Medical Futurist℠ Newsletter\u003C\u002Fb>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\u003Cli>News shaping the future of healthcare\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>Advice on taking charge of your health\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>Reviews of the latest health technology\u003C\u002Fli>\u003C\u002Ful>\n\n\n\n\u003Ctable style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #eee; border-top: 4px solid #444;\" cellpadding=\"10px\">\n\u003Ctbody>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd style=\"width: 100%;\">\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>At The Medical Futurist, we are building a community for making a bold vision about the future of healthcare reality today.\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FFIbMejImnxs\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\">\u003C\u002Fiframe>\n\u003Cp>If you’d like to support this mission, we invite you to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.patreon.com\u002Fthemedicalfuturist\">join The Medical Futurist Patreon Community\u003C\u002Fa>. A community of empowered patients, future-oriented healthcare professionals, concerned health policymakers, sensible health tech developers, and enthusiastic medical students. If there were ever a time to join us, it is now. Every contribution, however big or small, powers our research and sustains our future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.patreon.com\u002Fthemedicalfuturist\">\u003Cstrong style=\"background-color: #e71d3299; color: #000;\">Click here to support The Medical Futurist from as little as $3\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fa> – it only takes a minute. Thank you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\n\u003C\u002Ftr>\n\u003C\u002Ftbody>\n\u003C\u002Ftable>\n\u003Cp> \u003C\u002Fp>\n",false,{"rendered":22,"protected":20},"\u003Cp>Robots telling jokes and chatbots acting as life coaches sound astounding and terrifying at the same time. Extensive research is going on lately in the field of applying human features, emotions, gestures, and reactions to digital technology; and it raises thousands of questions. Could not only smart, but emotional algorithms or robots appear also in healthcare soon? Would there be a place or need for them? How would it impact the patient-doctor relationship or social interactions in general?\u003C\u002Fp>\n",6,16386,"closed",true,"","standard",{"_acf_changed":20,"footnotes":27},[31,32,33],504,511,521,[35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46],289,377,425,445,450,134,144,206,728,246,736,275,[],[],[50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59],1631,1683,1719,1723,1729,1739,1883,2131,2303,3347,[61,14,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,69,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,77,78,79,80,81],"post-16375","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artificial-intelligence","category-bioethics","category-future-medicine","tag-innovation","tag-robotics-2","tag-technology-2","tag-virtual-reality","tag-vr","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-digital","tag-empathy","tag-future","tag-emotional-inelligence","tag-healthcare",{"id":24,"alt_text":27,"caption":27,"description":27,"media_type":83,"media_details":84,"post":5,"source_url":118},"image",{"width":85,"height":86,"file":87,"sizes":88,"image_meta":115},870,314,"2017\u002F09\u002Fempathic-robots-1.jpg",{"medium":89,"large":95,"thumbnail":100,"medium_large":104,"large_old_512x185":105,"medium_old_458x165":110},{"file":90,"width":91,"height":92,"mime-type":93,"source_url":94},"empathic-robots-1-370x208.jpg",370,208,"image\u002Fjpeg","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F09\u002Fempathic-robots-1-370x208.jpg",{"file":96,"width":97,"height":98,"mime-type":93,"source_url":99},"empathic-robots-1-768x277.jpg",768,277,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F09\u002Fempathic-robots-1-768x277.jpg",{"file":101,"width":102,"height":102,"mime-type":93,"source_url":103},"empathic-robots-1-150x150.jpg",150,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F09\u002Fempathic-robots-1-150x150.jpg",{"file":96,"width":97,"height":98,"mime-type":93,"source_url":99},{"file":106,"width":107,"height":108,"mime-type":93,"source_url":109},"empathic-robots-1-512x185.jpg",512,185,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F09\u002Fempathic-robots-1-512x185.jpg",{"file":111,"width":112,"height":113,"mime-type":93,"source_url":114},"empathic-robots-1-458x165.jpg",458,165,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F09\u002Fempathic-robots-1-458x165.jpg",{"aperture":116,"credit":27,"camera":27,"caption":27,"created_timestamp":116,"copyright":27,"focal_length":116,"iso":116,"shutter_speed":116,"title":27,"orientation":116,"keywords":117},"0",[],"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2017\u002F09\u002Fempathic-robots-1.jpg",{"related_posts":120,"related_posts_footer":124,"cta_type":27,"cta_color":27,"subtitle":27,"related_books":20},[121,122,123],21320,21023,20749,[125,126,127],17925,17898,17604,{"yoast_wpseo_title":129,"yoast_wpseo_metadesc":27,"yoast_wpseo_canonical":15},"Should Algorithms and Robots Mimic Empathy? - The Medical Futurist",{"self":131,"collection":137,"about":140,"author":143,"replies":146,"version-history":149,"predecessor-version":153,"wp:featuredmedia":157,"wp:attachment":160,"wp:term":163,"curies":179},[132],{"href":133,"targetHints":134},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts\u002F16375",{"allow":135},[136],"GET",[138],{"href":139},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts",[141],{"href":142},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Ftypes\u002Fpost",[144],{"embeddable":26,"href":145},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fusers\u002F6",[147],{"embeddable":26,"href":148},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcomments?post=16375",[150],{"count":151,"href":152},18,"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts\u002F16375\u002Frevisions",[154],{"id":155,"href":156},45427,"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts\u002F16375\u002Frevisions\u002F45427",[158],{"embeddable":26,"href":159},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fmedia\u002F16386",[161],{"href":162},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fmedia?parent=16375",[164,167,170,173,176],{"taxonomy":165,"embeddable":26,"href":166},"category","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcategories?post=16375",{"taxonomy":168,"embeddable":26,"href":169},"post_tag","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Ftags?post=16375",{"taxonomy":171,"embeddable":26,"href":172},"project_category","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fproject_category?post=16375",{"taxonomy":174,"embeddable":26,"href":175},"contact_email_category","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcontact_email_category?post=16375",{"taxonomy":177,"embeddable":26,"href":178},"yst_prominent_words","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fyst_prominent_words?post=16375",[180],{"name":181,"href":182,"templated":26},"wp","https:\u002F\u002Fapi.w.org\u002F{rel}",[184],{"id":127,"date":185,"date_gmt":186,"guid":187,"modified":189,"modified_gmt":190,"slug":191,"status":13,"type":14,"link":192,"title":193,"content":195,"excerpt":197,"author":23,"featured_media":199,"comment_status":25,"ping_status":25,"sticky":26,"template":27,"format":28,"meta":200,"categories":201,"tags":202,"project_category":211,"contact_email_category":212,"yst_prominent_words":213,"class_list":220,"better_featured_image":230,"acf":258,"yoast_meta":259,"_links":261},"2018-04-04T19:05:18","2018-04-04T17:05:18",{"rendered":188},"http:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002F?p=17604","2022-05-19T12:37:26","2022-05-19T10:37:26","ibms-video-censoring-patent-calls-black-mirror","https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fibms-video-censoring-patent-calls-black-mirror",{"rendered":194},"IBM’s Video Censoring Patent Calls For Black Mirror",{"rendered":196,"protected":20},"\n\u003Ctable style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #eee; border-top: 4px solid #444;\" cellpadding=\"5px\">\n\u003Ctbody>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd style=\"width: 100%;\">\n\u003Cp style=\"color: #555;font-size: 12px;line-height: 14px\">THIS ARTICLE HAS NOT BEEN UPDATED SINCE 2018. THE INFORMATION SHARED IN THE ARTICLE WAS ACCURATE AT THE TIME OF ITS PUBLICATION, BUT IT MAY BE OUT OF DATE NOW. \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fmedicalfuturist.com\u002Fmagazine\">BROWSE OUR LATEST ARTICLES HERE\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\n\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003C\u002Ftbody>\u003C\u002Ftable>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>IBM’s new patent application about a real-time video censoring system was published end of March, and the thought of coming closer to a Black Mirror-like world lingers in the air. Would it be a useful tool for protecting copy-right content or a scary sci-fi vision coming true where parents withhold disturbing parts of reality from their children?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003C!--more-->\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>What is scarier: science fiction imitating reality or reality mimicking sci-fi?\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Netflix’s sci-fi series, \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.imdb.com\u002Ftitle\u002Ftt2085059\u002F?ref_=nv_sr_1\">Black Mirror\u003C\u002Fa>, shows with cutting-edge accuracy the darkest corners where technology can lead humanity. The producers stretch situations to the very extreme and display how the fallibility of humans compromise technology and how even the best intentions could lead to a disaster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>One of the episodes tells the story of a desperate mother, who, after a scare at the playground, decides to get her daughter fitted with a brain implant to monitor her every move. Every parent’s nightmare is that they lose sight of their child and in that episode, technology offers an easy answer. The platform not only follows the little girl’s every step, but it also protects her from disturbing or scary visual content such as seeing a sanguine dog barking or her own blood through pixeling out the unwanted images.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone size-full wp-image-17605\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"870\" height=\"498\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002F1712507217.rsc.cdn77.org\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F04\u002Fblack-mirror-blurring-blood.png\" alt=\"Black Mirror\" class=\"wp-image-17605\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F04\u002Fblack-mirror-blurring-blood.png 870w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F04\u002Fblack-mirror-blurring-blood-768x440.png 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F04\u002Fblack-mirror-blurring-blood-512x293.png 512w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F04\u002Fblack-mirror-blurring-blood-437x250.png 437w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px\" \u002F>\u003Cfigcaption>Source: medium.com\u003C\u002Ffigcaption>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Now, \u003Ca href=\"http:\u002F\u002Fappft.uspto.gov\u002Fnetacgi\u002Fnph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PG01&s1=H04N21%2F454.IPC.&OS=ICL\u002FH04N21\u002F454&RS=ICL\u002FH04N21\u002F454\">IBM’s latest patent application\u003C\u002Fa> published on 29 March 2018, filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office, resembles a lot the latter feature present in the Arkangel episode.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Cstrong>IBM to build a live video censoring tool\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>As the patent was filed in 2016, it is highly unlikely that the engineers at IBM got the idea from the remarkable British sci-fi series, as its last season (with Arkangel) was released late 2017. The concept must have been around for the last couple of years, but it is not a fortunate coincidence for IBM if Black Mirror comes to mind regarding its technology.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Nota bene. The patent application says that IBM’s innovation is a computer-implemented method of editing a video recording of an environment, where the given environment contains an entity to be censored. With the help of a visual light communication (VLC) signal and an entity recognition algorithm, the video is modified to replace at least a portion of the identified entity with a graphical element. The document also states that the video recording may be processed and modified in real-time (!) to one or more remote viewers. That way secret, sensitive or copyright-protected materials,  which the owner does not want to be viewed by untrusted, unauthorized or unknown third-parties, might be blurred out. Modification of the video recording may depend on a viewer’s viewing privileges or security credentials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>Moreover, the patent application mentions augmented reality and virtual reality headsets, which might also benefit from the real-time censoring system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Cfigure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone size-full wp-image-17606\">\u003Cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"870\" height=\"455\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002F1712507217.rsc.cdn77.org\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F04\u002Fvideo-censoring.jpg\" alt=\"Black Mirror\" class=\"wp-image-17606\" srcset=\"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F04\u002Fvideo-censoring.jpg 870w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F04\u002Fvideo-censoring-768x402.jpg 768w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F04\u002Fvideo-censoring-512x268.jpg 512w, https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F04\u002Fvideo-censoring-458x240.jpg 458w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 870px) 100vw, 870px\" \u002F>\u003Cfigcaption>Source: cnbc.com\u003C\u002Ffigcaption>\u003C\u002Ffigure>\n\n\n\n\u003Cp>So, we might come closer to a reality where customers will only see parts of a product in a demo – some privileged partners more, “ordinary” buyers less. But, are we also heading to a reality where parents watch TV together with their children, and while the adults are allowed to see disturbing images, their kids will only sense a blurred image from that part of the movie? Black Mirror, here we come? We don’t know that yet. We have to note that it is only a patent application by IBM, not even a demo trailer bit is released yet. And as science fiction already warned us about some possible dystopian consequences, now regulators and developers might make some moves in order to avoid the dark scenarios. We cross our fingers for that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ctable style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #eee; border-top: 4px solid #444;\" cellpadding=\"10px\">\n\u003Ctbody>\n\u003Ctr>\n\u003Ctd style=\"width: 100%;\">\n\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>At The Medical Futurist, we are building a community for making a bold vision about the future of healthcare reality today.\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FFIbMejImnxs\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen=\"\">\u003C\u002Fiframe>\n\u003Cp>If you’d like to support this mission, we invite you to \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.patreon.com\u002Fthemedicalfuturist\">join The Medical Futurist Patreon Community\u003C\u002Fa>. A community of empowered patients, future-oriented healthcare professionals, concerned health policymakers, sensible health tech developers, and enthusiastic medical students. If there were ever a time to join us, it is now. Every contribution, however big or small, powers our research and sustains our future.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.patreon.com\u002Fthemedicalfuturist\">\u003Cstrong style=\"background-color: #e71d3299; color: #000;\">Click here to support The Medical Futurist from as little as $3\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fa> – it only takes a minute. Thank you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Ftd>\n\u003C\u002Ftr>\n\u003C\u002Ftbody>\n\u003C\u002Ftable>\n\u003Cp> \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\n\n\u003Ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fthemedicalfuturist.us8.list-manage.com\u002Fsubscribe?u=5b42ebb547c75ff669a6572d3&id=efd6a3cd08\">\u003Cb>Subscribe To The Medical Futurist℠ Newsletter\u003C\u002Fb>\u003C\u002Fa>\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\n\n\n\u003Cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\u003Cli>News shaping the future of healthcare\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>Advice on taking charge of your health\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>Reviews of the latest health technology\u003C\u002Fli>\u003C\u002Ful>\n",{"rendered":198,"protected":20},"\u003Cp>IBM’s new patent application about a real-time video censoring system was published end of March, and the thought of coming closer to a Black Mirror-like world lingers in the air. Would it be a useful tool for protecting copy-right content or a scary sci-fi vision coming true where parents withhold disturbing parts of reality from their children?\u003C\u002Fp>\n",17615,{"_acf_changed":20,"footnotes":27},[31],[203,204,205,206,207,208,209,210,38,39],527,858,859,860,145,281,381,383,[],[],[214,215,216,217,218,52,53,54,219,56],2355,3423,3527,5085,1571,1731,[221,14,62,63,64,65,66,67,222,223,224,225,226,227,228,229,73,74],"post-17604","tag-ar","tag-video-censoring","tag-censoring","tag-black-mirror","tag-augmented-reality-2","tag-ibm","tag-sci-fi","tag-science-fiction",{"id":199,"alt_text":27,"caption":231,"description":27,"media_type":83,"media_details":232,"post":127,"source_url":257},"29104859 - cute little boy sitting in bed and using tablet pc",{"width":85,"height":233,"file":234,"sizes":235,"image_meta":255},580,"2018\u002F04\u002F29104859-cute-little-boy-sitting-in-bed-and-using-tablet-pc.jpg",{"medium":236,"large":239,"thumbnail":242,"medium_large":245,"large_old_512x341":246,"medium_old_375x250":250},{"file":237,"width":91,"height":92,"mime-type":93,"source_url":238},"29104859-cute-little-boy-sitting-in-bed-and-using-tablet-pc-370x208.jpg","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F04\u002F29104859-cute-little-boy-sitting-in-bed-and-using-tablet-pc-370x208.jpg",{"file":240,"width":97,"height":107,"mime-type":93,"source_url":241},"29104859-cute-little-boy-sitting-in-bed-and-using-tablet-pc-768x512.jpg","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F04\u002F29104859-cute-little-boy-sitting-in-bed-and-using-tablet-pc-768x512.jpg",{"file":243,"width":102,"height":102,"mime-type":93,"source_url":244},"29104859-cute-little-boy-sitting-in-bed-and-using-tablet-pc-150x150.jpg","https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F04\u002F29104859-cute-little-boy-sitting-in-bed-and-using-tablet-pc-150x150.jpg",{"file":240,"width":97,"height":107,"mime-type":93,"source_url":241},{"file":247,"width":107,"height":248,"mime-type":93,"source_url":249},"29104859-cute-little-boy-sitting-in-bed-and-using-tablet-pc-512x341.jpg",341,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F04\u002F29104859-cute-little-boy-sitting-in-bed-and-using-tablet-pc-512x341.jpg",{"file":251,"width":252,"height":253,"mime-type":93,"source_url":254},"29104859-cute-little-boy-sitting-in-bed-and-using-tablet-pc-375x250.jpg",375,250,"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F04\u002F29104859-cute-little-boy-sitting-in-bed-and-using-tablet-pc-375x250.jpg",{"aperture":116,"credit":27,"camera":27,"caption":27,"created_timestamp":116,"copyright":27,"focal_length":116,"iso":116,"shutter_speed":116,"title":27,"orientation":116,"keywords":256},[],"https:\u002F\u002Fcdn.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F04\u002F29104859-cute-little-boy-sitting-in-bed-and-using-tablet-pc.jpg",{"related_posts":20,"related_posts_footer":20,"cta_type":27,"cta_color":27,"subtitle":27,"related_books":20},{"yoast_wpseo_title":260,"yoast_wpseo_metadesc":27,"yoast_wpseo_canonical":192},"IBM’s Video Censoring Patent Calls For Black Mirror - The Medical Futurist",{"self":262,"collection":267,"about":269,"author":271,"replies":273,"version-history":276,"predecessor-version":280,"wp:featuredmedia":284,"wp:attachment":287,"wp:term":290,"curies":301},[263],{"href":264,"targetHints":265},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts\u002F17604",{"allow":266},[136],[268],{"href":139},[270],{"href":142},[272],{"embeddable":26,"href":145},[274],{"embeddable":26,"href":275},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcomments?post=17604",[277],{"count":278,"href":279},14,"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts\u002F17604\u002Frevisions",[281],{"id":282,"href":283},46219,"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fposts\u002F17604\u002Frevisions\u002F46219",[285],{"embeddable":26,"href":286},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fmedia\u002F17615",[288],{"href":289},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fmedia?parent=17604",[291,293,295,297,299],{"taxonomy":165,"embeddable":26,"href":292},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcategories?post=17604",{"taxonomy":168,"embeddable":26,"href":294},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Ftags?post=17604",{"taxonomy":171,"embeddable":26,"href":296},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fproject_category?post=17604",{"taxonomy":174,"embeddable":26,"href":298},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fcontact_email_category?post=17604",{"taxonomy":177,"embeddable":26,"href":300},"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.medicalfuturist.com\u002Fwp-json\u002Fwp\u002Fv2\u002Fyst_prominent_words?post=17604",[302],{"name":181,"href":182,"templated":26},[],1789238040280]