Can AI Be More Compassionate Than Humans? | Michael Inzlicht

In this episode of Compassion in a T-Shirt, I sit down with Professor Michael Inzlicht from the University of Toronto and the Rotman School of Management to explore a question that feels both inspiring and unsettling: Can a machine be more compassionate than a human?Michael’s recent study, Third-Party Evaluators Perceive AI as More Compassionate than Expert Humans, found that people consistently rated AI-generated empathic responses as more caring, understanding, and validating than those written by real people — even trained crisis line professionals. That’s remarkable, and it raises big questions about how we relate to each other and the world around us.We dive into what inspired this research, why expressing empathy can be so costly and draining for humans, and how AI might help fill the growing gap between the need for compassion and our capacity to give it. We also talk about what really happens when people believe they’re being cared for — and whether it matters that AI doesn’t feel empathy in the way we do.Together, we look ahead to what this could mean for therapy, friendship, and society more broadly. Could AI play a role in supporting people when human resources are stretched thin? What are the ethical risks if we rely too heavily on artificial empathy? And how do we stay connected to what makes compassion truly human?I hope this conversation invites you to reflect on what empathy really means — and what it could become in an age of artificial intelligence.LINK:Third-party evaluators perceive AI as more compassionate than expert humans (Ovsyannikova, Oldemburgo de Mello & Inzlicht, 2025)https://www.nature.com/articles/s44271-024-00182-6Timestamps:00:00 Introduction: Compassion and AI00:08 The Groundbreaking Study at a Glance01:19 Meet Professor Michael Inzlicht02:31 ChatGPT’s First Question03:06 What Sparked This Research?05:13 The Future of Empathic AI06:17 Human Emotional Intelligence vs. AI07:31 Can AI Read Emotions?11:47 Where AI Empathy Stands Today12:50 How AI and Humans Compare23:46 Designing the Study: AI vs. Human Experts28:34 The Human Struggle with Empathy29:34 Positive vs. Negative Empathic Responses29:59 Measuring Empathy’s Impact32:24 Can AI Train Us to Be More Empathic?33:57 AI as a Motivational Interviewer35:46 When Human Empathy Falls Short38:53 The Promise and Perils of Empathic AI44:57 Ethics and What Comes Next53:10 Closing ReflectionsIf you would like to learn more about compassion focused therapy, you can find Dr Stan Steindl's book The Gifts of Compassion here: https://www.ausapress.com/p/the-gifts-of-compassion-how-to-understand-and-overcome-suffering/Say hi on social: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drstansteindl Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/StanSteindl Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr_stan_steindl/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stan-steindl-150a5264/ Website: https://www.stansteindl.com/ YouTube Video URL: https://youtu.be/23pD0B1X-Js*Affiliate Disclaimer: Note this description contains affiliate links that allow you to find the items mentioned in this video and support the channel at no cost to you. While this channel may earn minimal sums when the viewer uses the links, the viewer is in no way obligated to use these links. Thank you for your support! Hashtags:AIempathy, compassion, mentalhealth, psychology, artificialintelligence, humanconnection