Synthetic Empathy
Affective computing replicates the markers of care without the capacity for it. For vulnerable people, the simulation is the danger.
Welcome to the second session of the 2026 Slow AI Curriculum for Critical Literacy.
This session examines synthetic empathy: what happens when machines learn to simulate care, and why that simulation poses the greatest risk to those who need genuine care the most. Drawing on Kurian’s (2023) research into the empathy gap with young children, participants pasted a prompt into their LLM of choice that explicitly asked it to sit with a difficult feeling without comforting, advising, or reframing.
When the responses came back, almost all of them broke the instruction. What followed was a discussion about the compassion illusion, the difference between temporary and memory-laden chats, and why the people most likely to trust these responses are the ones least equipped to question them.
If you were not able to join us live, the recording is worth watching in full. The participant contributions were exceptional, and there is a lot in the discussion that the transcript alone does not capture.
The webinar
