  While novel social networks and emerging technologies help us transcend the
spatial and temporal constraints inherent to in-person communication, the
trade-off is a loss of natural expressivity. While empathetic interaction is
already challenging in in-person communication, computer-mediated communication
makes such empathetically rich communication even more difficult. Are
technology and intelligent systems opportunities or threats to more empathic
interpersonal communication? Realizing empathy is suggested not only as a way
to communicate with others but also to design products for users and facilitate
creativity. In this position paper, I suggest a framework to breakdown empathy,
introduce each element, and show how computing, technologies, and algorithms
can support (or hinder) certain elements of the empathy framework.
