Affective AI: Designing Emotionally Intelligent Systems

Traditional technology focuses purely on logic and data, but the most impactful modern systems understand how users feel. Affective Artificial Intelligence bridges the gap between computer science, psychology, and design to create technology that recognizes and adapts to human emotion. In this text-based course, you will transition from understanding basic computer science to designing systems capable of emotional intelligence. You will read about the foundations of emotion theory, explore how modern algorithms analyze text patterns, and discover how to build more empathetic user experiences. What you'll learn: Understand the psychological foundations of human emotion and how they translate to computational models; Analyze emotional cues in text using modern sentiment analysis and natural language processing techniques; Explore how modern large language models can be guided to detect and respond to user sentiment; Design human-computer interaction workflows that adapt dynamically to a user's emotional state; Apply ethical frameworks to ensure privacy, consent, and fairness in emotion-sensing systems. The course begins with essential psychological theories of emotion and basic definitions before moving into practical text-based analysis, sentiment detection, and user experience considerations. You will learn through clear written explanations, conceptual breakdowns, and practical text-based exercises. This course is designed for beginners in artificial intelligence, developers, and product designers who want to explore the emotional side of technology, with no prior background in psychology required. Start reading today to begin building more human-centric, emotionally aware technology.