Emotional Computing Systems
Ember models emotional process through deterministic mechanics rather than interpretation. Three of them are below. Each one is live — try it.
Everything on this page runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
Emotional Decay
Emotional intensity reduces over time. An entry is not permanent, which removes the fear of digital permanency and lets expression stay raw. Words are redacted from the end as the entry ages — or the whole entry fades, depending on the mode.
Drag the slider to move through time. In the real app this happens over days, computed from the entry's creation date every time it is opened.
Time-Lock Revisitation
An entry cannot be edited or deleted until it has been revisited on a separate, later visit. You cannot write something raw and erase it an hour later. Avoidance is confronted rather than accommodated.
I keep telling people I am fine because the alternative is a conversation I do not know how to start.
Honesty Constraints
Pasting lets you filter and pre-edit a thought somewhere else before it ever reaches the page. Composition accepts typing only, which reduces the cognitive distortion that rewriting introduces.
What this is
Ember is the reference implementation of Emotional Computing Systems: a class of cognitive software built on computational emotional mechanics. The full app is local-first and encrypted, with entries stored only on your own device.
Source code · GNU AGPL v3 or later