An interesting article. I agree with what Claudia Hammond says about how fiction increases empathy. Some people read only non-fiction, looking down their noses at novels, which is perhaps a clue to their lack of social skills. I've known several experts in their field who read only books about their interest, and they were insular with problems picking up on social clues.
I've found that as a writer, I need to rein in my empathy at times, for it begins to harm what's expected by a reader from the dynamics of the plot. I endeavour to create three-dimensional characters in my crime novels, including the antagonists, the criminals that have included serial killers, kidnappers and cannibals. Portraying the motivation for their vile crimes is one thing, and it's fun to wrong-foot a reader who might start to sympathise with them, but there comes a point when a bad guy has to be just that—an evil threat that needs to be eliminated by my good guy detective.
Part of the problem of doing this is that villains are always more fun to create, as unless you give your hero a slew of addictions and moral failings, they start to look like holier-than-thou bores. As Alfred Hitchcock observed about storylines: The more successful the villain, the more successful the picture.