| > there's no reason why analytical skills can't help us improve services that require a lot of emotional empathy While I agree with that to a certain extent (example, the work Microsoft is doing in collaboration with Dr. Eckman's work on microexpressions to read emotional cues from facial expressions), there is a certain part in mindful, loving-kindness that I doubt could be replicated by automation. (Or rather, if there were a way, it would involve a kind of self-serve ... where the user is lead through an experience that generates self-compassion). I say this as someone who has spent much of my 20s and early 30s heavily analytical, then went through some extreme, transformative experiences. These transformative experiences got me in awareness of emotions in a way that was difficult for my intellect to fool me into thinking otherwise. There was a world of experience that made much more sense. You're mistaken in thinking that emotional empathy means that such people will not be divisive. The most compassionate can stay centered even in face of extreme divisiveness -- being centered in midst of extreme emotions is why they _can_ be compassionate -- and as such, can often be the voice of uncomfortable, deep, soul-shaking truths. Or better, to bear silent witness for the uncomfortable truths as it works its way out into the open. The kind of "emotional labor" this article talks about involves bearing a lot of pain and suffering, above and beyond the physical labor. These pain are often pain that, others are not witnessing or mindful themselves. The traditional archetype of heroism is exactly the wrong archetype that bears these pain: the traditional hero who bears pain fools himself into thinking he still retains control over when and how that pain expresses itself. Life, though, brings pain all on its own. No one can control it. Absorbing, deflecting, and armoring against pain does not develop empathy. There is no fooling yourself that you can control when and how it happens, and that unpredictability and lack of control makes it much more difficult to experience. A traditional hero eventually breaks under these conditions. Our society currently materially rewards these heroes, even though they are not suited for dealing with pain and suffering. When we cross a threshold with automation, I think we will no longer have much left to keep the existential anguish at bay. And that's when people who have been quietly working with these difficult emotions will help keep things from flying apart. |