A lot of people had started using telehealth (a way to get healthcare through the internet or phone) because of the pandemic. A leading software provider surveyed over 1,000 U.S. consumers and found that 65% of people have used it and said they will continue to use it even after the pandemic ends. The global telehealth market is poised to grow by USD 95.72 bn during 2020–2024, progressing at a CAGR of 25% according to Market Watch.

Some people are afraid that as technology gets more advanced, we will lose human connection and communication. How many times have you shown up at a Zoom meeting with a blank expression or straight face? How many times have you shown sadness just by sending an emoticon instead of words to communicate?

We should not dismiss the importance of empathy, human connection, and authentic relationship between a physician and a patient. However, one advantage of telehealth is that “the providers can see the patients in their real environment, without makeup, and without the mastered smile”, according to Amy Velasquez, a nurse.

Patients are more relaxed and honest about their situation when they are in their own comfortable habitat. However, creating a healing model that leverages telehealth would decrease productivity and cut revenues because each visit would be too time-consuming. A telehealth session is longer than a typical 8 to 12-minute office visit between a patient and physician.

But what if our devices could augment those interactions and make them more productive? Researchers are creating artificial intelligence that can think and act like humans, but also detect and react to human emotions.

Emotion AI is a way to make virtual communication more realistic by adding emotions to it.

Companies like Immersively.care have become interested in using speech, facial expressions, heart rate, skin conductivity, or pupil dilation to automatically identify the emotions of patients in order to help healthcare providers detect depression and stress early.

As our life has become a series of straight faces staring at the mobile or computer screen, Emotion AI’s true zenith is on the horizon. It will reach billions of people and assist them in their daily lives, making us feel connected in a more human way.