Who Needs Emotions?: The Brain Meets the Robot (Series in Affective Science) [Hardcover]

Jean-Marc Fellous (Editor), Michael A. Arbib (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195166191 | ISBN-13: 978-0195166194 | Publication Date: March 24, 2005 | Edition: 1

The idea that some day robots may have emotions has captured the imagination of many and has been dramatized by robots and androids in such famous movies as 2001 Space Odyssey's HAL or Star Trek's Data. By contrast, the editors of this book have assembled a panel of experts in neuroscience and artificial intelligence who have dared to tackle the issue of whether robots can have emotions from a purely scientific point of view. The study of the brain now usefully informs study of the social, communicative, adaptive, regulatory, and experimental aspects of emotion and offers support for the idea that we exploit our own psychological responses in order to feel others' emotions. The contributors show the many ways in which the brain can be analyzed to shed light on emotions. Fear, reward, and punishment provide structuring concepts for a number of investigations. Neurochemistry reveals the ways in which different "neuromodulators" such as serotonin, dopamine, and opioids can affect the emotional valence of the brain. And studies of different regions such as the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex provide a view of the brain as a network of interacting subsystems. Related studies in artificial intelligence and robotics are discussed and new multi-level architectures are proposed that make it possible for emotions to be implemented. It is now an accepted task in robotics to build robots that perceive human expressions of emotion and can "express" simulated emotions to ease interactions with humans. Looking towards future innovations, some scientists posit roles for emotion with our fellow humans. All of these issues are covered in this timely and stimulating book which is written for researchers and graduated students in neuroscience, cognitive science, psychology, robotics, and artificial intelligence.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...this book is an important contribution to the emerging field of emotional neurotechnology. It is a stimulating collection that is well edited and researched."--The Lancet-Neurology

"Who Needs Emotions? is a cutting-edge research volume that has been meticulously edited by Jean-Marc Fellous and Michael A. Arbib.... this collection of essays is an excellent anthology in terms of cutting-edge research on the brain, and...in matters of artificial intelligence.... I would highly recommend this book because of all the interesting insights into how the brain works with regard to the emotions."--Marion Ledwig, Philosophical Psychology

About the Author

Jean-Marc Fellous is at Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Michael A. Arbib is at University of Southern California.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (March 24, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195166191
• ISBN-13: 978-0195166194
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #916,598 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

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5.0 out of 5 stars Yes, It Is Too Deep for Us Recreational Readers, February 7, 2009

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This review is from: Who Needs Emotions?: The Brain Meets the Robot (Series in Affective Science) (Hardcover)

I've seldom been as challenged by the content of a book as by this one. It's a collection of twelve essays, of varying length and complexity, addressing issues of the architecture/software/operation of the brain - both the human and the artificial. The unifying questions are whether a scientific definition of 'emotions' can be formulated, what separates or unites emotions with intelligence, and whether artificial intelligence is meaningful without an emotional OS.

I've been reading one or another of these essays whenever I've felt bold enough for over a year. Some of them, with ferocious concentration, I've digested. Some have left me feeling remarkably stupid. In general, the essays of "Part II: Brains", written by psychologists and neurobiologists, have been digestible, but the essays of "Part II: Robots" might as well be written in Sanskrit.

Nonetheless, I strongly recommend this book! It's said in the pop medicine news of the Sunday papers that the surest preventative for mental decline of your aging (presumably human) brain is challenging exercise of your cerebral powers. If so, this book will forestall senility for a decade or more.