GenAI and DSSSH – Empathetic AI, My Best Friend

With the rise of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI), the term digital empathy has gained a new layer of meaning and has become an integral part of the emerging theory of Empathetic AI (EAI). It also entered the broader discourse surrounding the status and role of artificial intelligence in relation to humans. In this context, digital empathy has increasingly become a subject of research within Digital Humanities and Social Sciences (DHSS), particularly in studies that examine the evolving relationship between humans and AI, as well as the potential future of that connection. Accordingly, these inquiries are conducted primarily from the perspective of the human–AI relationship. However, the present research goes a step further: not only are we analysing AI through a human-centred lens, but we are also attempting a reverse perspective – exploring how AI itself 'perceives' and 'interprets' the notion of empathy, particularly through dialogic interaction. This includes examining how AI conceptualises its own empathetic capabilities and potential uses.