Large Language Models (LLMs) and Empathy – A Systematic Review

Purpose Empathy, a cornerstone of human interaction, is a unique quality to humans that Large Language Models (LLMs) are believed to lack. Our study aims to review the literature on the capacity of LLMs in demonstrating empathy Methods We conducted a literature search on MEDLINE up to July 2023. Seven publications ultimately met the inclusion criteria. Results All studies included in this review were published in 2023. All studies but one focused on ChatGPT-3.5 by OpenAI. Only one study evaluated empathy based on objective metrics, and all others used subjective human assessment. The studies reported LLMs to exhibits elements of empathy, including emotions recognition and providing emotionally supportive responses in diverse contexts, most of which were related to healthcare. In some cases, LLMs were observed to outperform humans in empathy-related tasks. Conclusion LLMs demonstrated some aspects of empathy in variable scenarios, mainly related to healthcare. The empathy may be considered “cognitive” empathy. Social skills are a fundamental aspect of intelligence, thus further research is imperative to enhance these skills in AI. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement This study did not receive any funding ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable. Yes All data produced in the present work are contained in the manuscript