Survey/review study From Emotion AI to Cognitive AI Guoying Zhao *, Yante Li , and Qianru Xu University of Oulu, Pentti Kaiteran Katu 1, Linnanmaa 90570, Finland * Correspondence: guoying.zhao@oulu.fi Received: 22 September 2022 Accepted: 28 November 2022 Published: 22 December 2022 Abstract: Cognitive computing is recognized as the next era of computing. In order to make hardware and software systems more human-like, emotion artificial intelligence (AI) and cognitive AI which simulate human intelligence are the core of real AI. The current boom of sentiment analysis and affective computing in computer science gives rise to the rapid development of emotion AI. However, the research of cognitive AI has just started in the past few years. In this visionary paper, we briefly review the current development in emotion AI, introduce the concept of cognitive AI, and propose the envisioned future of cognitive AI, which intends to let computers think, reason, and make decisions in similar ways that humans do. The important aspect of cognitive AI in terms of engagement, regulation, decision making, and discovery are further discussed. Finally, we propose important directions for constructing future cognitive AI, including data and knowledge mining, multi-modal AI explainability, hybrid AI, and potential ethical challenges.