Flourishing with Moral Emotions Through Conversational Agents

This chapter concerns how artificial agents can be used to bolster moral
emotions like compassion that are linked to well-being. While technology-based
interventions for well-being are plentiful, e.g., wellness apps, two critical components for flourishing in the twenty-first century are currently overlooked: (1) promoting moral emotions, e.g., gratitude, that relies on complex emotional experiences
rather than simple negative or positive affect, and (2) using conversational agents,
e.g., chatbots, rather than other technological interventions, e.g., mobile apps, which
reframes well-being interventions as conversations. We look into gratitude and
compassion as specific moral emotions that can be fostered by talking with technology rather than clicking through technology. This extends our relations of care to
include artificial agents, in which we explore flourishing along with (not despite)
technology in a new light.