Abstract
With the growing field of artificial intelligence, questions arise over the precise nature of not only whether such artificial intelligences can have consciousness and rich inner lives like humans, but questions on how we ought to treat such beings. One such question that has arisen is the question on whether humans could feel empathy towards artificial intelligences. Many depictions of artificial intelligence in fiction present conflicting visions of artificial intelligence as "soulless, unfeeling" machines who mercilessly exterminate humanity, or as compelling characters with inner lives as rich and expressive as any human. Given these conflicting depictions of artificial intelligences, combined with the uncertainty of artificial consciousness in the scientific and philosophical field, the question of empathy towards these beings arises as an open question. However, given what we know about empathy, not only towards humans, but to non-human subjects, the question of empathy towards artificial intelligences can be answered.