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Artificial Intelligence and Emotional Intelligence: The Conjunction

Updated: Jun 8, 2020

By Jasmine Reyes

 

When we hear the term Artificial Intelligence, or AI, we may instinctively assume that human intelligence may never amount to surpassing the level of a machine. The stories that exist of an archaic dystopia filled with poor civilians bending to the dictatorship of merciless drones may sound familiar, which could possibly back up the irrational fear and controversy towards the enhanced advances in the AI field. However, AI and emotional intelligence both have their weaknesses, and are more so a force to be reckoned with when collaborating together. 


Mentioned in the book of Davis Epstein’s Range is a game of advanced or freestyle chess, a variation of the regular form, for example. A centaur team of two people and three conventional chess computers, challenged and defeated Hydra, the reigning champion and a supercomputer. Thanks to their teamwork and fusing of their abilities, they were able to take down the leading victor at the time. Thomas Frank’s recent video “How to Be a More Strategic Thinker” explained it best. He brings up that “when you develop a symbiotic relationship, where both bring their strengths to the table and play off each other, you get the best possible combination” . He goes further on to elaborate that although the analytical nature of computers’ way of thinking vastly differs from the natural innovative creativity that humans possess, they can achieve magnificent feats when working with each other. Introducing the concept of man and machine, Frank explains that the latter is a tool for us to enable within our utility. We ourselves come to understand that although we may vilify AI at times uncertainty, they are merely a man made invention we can enable to accomplish great things. 


AI is for the benefit of ourselves and our emotional intelligence, in the long run. “The Rise of AI Makes Emotional Intelligence More Important” by Megan Beck and Barry Libert brings up poignant views on this claim. They advise us not to “fight the progress of technology.

Machine learning and AI have the ability to improve outcomes and lower cost — so don’t fight the robots.” They themselves bring awareness to the fact that technology is there to back up our mistakes when necessary, rather than to hinder our credibility. They add that “What you have to offer — what you can do better than any smart machine — is relate to the people around you.” Directed to the people fearing for the loss of their hard earned jobs, they have little to nothing to fear after all as long as they make the effort to strengthen their abilities in the fields where AI can achieve. Where technology lacks is the exact area that humans can thrive off of.


The connection between AI and emotional intelligence is that their roles as differing opposites plays to the human’s advantage. Fusing technology and human intellect together concocts an unmatched potential than working independently. The video and article  agree on a common idea: AI and emotional intelligence work best together.





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