Algorithms Can’t Accurately Interpret Human Emotion and That’s Probably a Good Thing

Imagine living in a world where machines can read our minds and emotions; where your thoughts and your feelings are connected, shared, stored and controlled; a world where you become as transparent as air.

If that doesn’t alarm you, you’re not thinking hard enough about the consequences — say goodbye to lying to your mother-in-law; no more flirting with that cute bartender; better not kiss butt to get that promotion and no more poker face. For those of us who value privacy, the only hope will be to imitate the blank page.

The bad news first: you already live in a world where the likes of Amazon and Facebook are frantically trying to decode your thoughts and feelings, whilst Walmart studies your facial expressions to match products to your mood. Are we sad today? The wine’s in aisle nine.

The world’s largest social network, this year, bolstered its efforts to push a technology that lets users think the words they want to type. That’s great news for people unable to communicate or can’t use their hands to type, but it presents uncharted territory in terms of data abuse. “To me, the brain is the one safe place for freedom of thought, of fantasies, and for dissent,” said Nita Farahany, a professor of law and philosophy at Duke University. “We’re getting…