It might be useful to distinguish two concepts, which I think are being conflated here:<p>Cognitive empathy: I can accurately predict the feelings&#x2F;experiences of another person. This can&#x27;t be &quot;faked&quot; - if your predictions are accurate, you have it.<p>Affective empathy: I experience similar feelings to another party (perhaps weakened) as a result of observing them experiencing it. This can be faked, and it can also cause problems for the person who has it.<p>Affective empathy seems like the thing which you describe as causing problems, while cognitive empathy seems like the thing which is useful for building better products.