Emotion from P Bit: Computing Emotions Using the Platonic Computer

Emotion is a major aspect of the human conscious experience. Some common emotions include happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, and disgust. Computing emotions is a desirable goal for conscious AI systems. Emotions can be detected and classified using computational methods, but whether or not emotions can truly be “computed” is still a matter of philosophical and scientific debate. Some researchers argue that emotions are first-person subjective experiences, not just third-person objective phenomena that can be measured or quantified. Therefore, it is unlikely to be computable. In this paper, it is proposed that emotions are computed using the Platonic computer. A Platonic computer is a hypothetical rendering engine in the Platonic realm of Forms. It is the archetype of our everyday mundane material computer. A physical computer made of silicon material is a shadow or poor imitation of the Platonic computer. Although the Platonic computer is not accessible by our normal senses, we can simulate how the Platonic computer renders emotions by manipulating a physical computer to render emojis. It is hypothesized that emojis that are rendered by a physical computer are shadows of emotions rendered by the Platonic computer. By adopting this approach, emotions are digitalized and simulated using a physical computer.