Large language models do not have emotions

One response is to say that LLMs do not (and could not ever) have emotions, because LLMs cannot feel^1,2. If feeling is a necessary condition for the occurrence of emotions, the idea that LLM have (or will ever have) emotions could be dismissed. However, we and many other affective scientists do not see conscious feelings as a necessary condition of emotions in humans or other animals. We therefore do not regard the presence of feelings as an appropriate criterion for whether an LLM has emotions.

What might be more appropriate criteria? To answer this question, we adopt a functional perspective^2,3,4, asking what functions emotions serve and whether an LLM has processes that serve those functions. We argue that emotions serve two central functions. Specifically, emotions shape how we (1) interpret and (2) respond to the world.

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Subjects

• Computer science
• Neurophysiology
• Psychology

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Goldenberg, A., Gross, J.J. Large language models do not have emotions.
Nat Hum Behav (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-026-02558-6

• Version of record:24 August 2026

• DOI
  :https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-026-02558-6