Affective computing is computing that relates to, arises from, or deliberately influences emotions. In practice, we are trying to build computers with the skills of emotional intelligence, such as the ability to recognize emotions, assist in communicating human emotion, and respond appropriately to emotion. These include wearable computers that look more like shoes, jewelry, and clothing than like the traditional box on a desk, although we are working on the latter as well. One example that has already been demonstrated is eyeglasses that sense if the wearer is furrowing his brow in confusion or raising it in interest, and relay this information to the computer or to other people, perhaps in a distance learning situation. I pondered adjectives for some time.
Expression is only a part of affective computing.
I went to the theorists where I found a thicket of conflicting terminology, with little agreed upon definitions for any of these words. I wanted a broad term that was accurate and minimally tied to the negative aspects of emotions. This is the kind of question that drives the advocates of emotional intelligence nuts. Half the computers have the skills of emotional intelligence, and half do not. Once the human-computer pairs have solved the problem, then you inquire about things such as accuracy, speed of solution, enjoyment of the experience by the human, what the human learned, and desire of the human to continue working with that computer.