I’ve been taking a summer course on technology and ethics at school, and we’ve recently been discussing how artificial intelligence can be used to predict human emotions. Our teacher explained that social networking companies are especially interested in this type of technology because it would allow them to create more personalized recommendations and make social media more addictive. 

An article by Oscar Schwartz explained that brain-computer interface (BCI) technology allows direct communication between the brain and a machine. For example, some researchers have been able to translate neural activity into speech using BCI. However, at the moment, this technology is limited because text can only formulate if someone attempts to articulate their thoughts with words—they can’t simply think it. 

Although there are limitations, companies like Facebook are already embracing this technology and trying to implement it into their platforms. In fact, a Stanford article explained companies could someday alter their messages and advertisements in order to elicit the strongest emotional reaction from a user. 

Using artificial intelligence in this way poses a great threat to users’ privacy because social networking sites can accurately predict emotions based on searches, likes, and conversations. Users will become more susceptible to social media addiction since the content they see will be more specific to their interests and emotional responses.