In 2017, when Robert Winters was single, he used artificial intelligence to find more matches on Tinder. He connected with hundreds of dating prospects by downloading his AI software that automatically swipes through profiles and starts conversations. Shortly thereafter, Tinder Banned he.
“Before the AI-Tinder hack I implemented, there were probably a dozen or so matches. [over] “It makes a difference a few days,” he said, “and the difference is night and day.”
This program is much more savvy than the AI tools most people use to find dates. Still, the 39-year-old digital design strategist from Belgium says that even simple AI assistance can optimize online dating.
Last year, Winters started using AI to generate photos of herself for dating profiles.
Around the same time, a number of new AI-powered dating tools emerged. These can help users improve their dating profiles, send text messages, and participate in people’s “first dates.” But their release also sparked a debate about the ethics of their use.
“The question is how much should we allow people to use AI to express themselves,” said Liesel Shalabi, a dating app researcher and associate professor at Arizona State University.
“When is it deceptive and when is it useful?”
Enhance your dating profile
Among other features, many websites and phone apps say it helps people create a more selective first impression of dating apps. This type of AI service:
- write your bio
- write an immediate answer
- identify the best photos
- Create an AI-generated image of you
Dmitri Mirakyan is the co-founder of YourMove AI. YourMove AI is his website and app that provides services such as an AI dating profile generator and reviewer. He says his company has created more than 500,000 profiles of him and his website receives about 200,000 visitors each month.
Some people are using artificial intelligence to help with flirty banter online. But what are the ethics behind expressing an enhanced or otherwise enhanced version of your personality when dating?
He estimated that about a third of users are young men.
He said some people use his services because they’re introverted or older and aren’t used to dating apps.
“Marketing yourself is difficult, so we help these people confidently jump into online dating,” Miracan said.
Kathryn Coduto, an online dating researcher and assistant professor at Boston University, said that while these tools may be useful, they can make people seem inauthentic.
“When you use AI to create your profile, you don’t feel like yourself. You feel like a computer is trying to figure out who you are.”
she found in research Even if there are benefits, many people are hesitant to trust AI.
pickup line
Some apps provide users with an AI-generated rolodex of openers. “I don’t know what to say. I usually choose a 7, but I think I’ll settle for a 10,” one person in the TikTok ad says.
Users can often request specific tones, ranging from sweet to spicy. But regardless of style, the developers say their programs boost users’ confidence by educating them on how to improve their communication skills while helping them take important first steps. There is.
Unlike using AI to enhance your profile, Coduto says AI-generated pick-up lines reflect long-established habits, as many people rely on friends to help with openers. said.
“Is AI really different from friends when it comes to opening LINE?”
“Both men and women need help opening up on dating apps. It’s an artificial environment that’s different from the real world,” said Roman Cabes, co-founder of Rizz, an AI dating assistant. “For many users, opening up is very nerve-wracking.”
Cabes said his app has had 3.5 million users since it went live last spring.
Coduto said men are often under much more pressure because they are “still expected to send the first message or say a great opening line.”
Sometimes a pick-up line may sound unnatural or silly, but that doesn’t mean you can’t change it.
“I think there’s an argument that we can learn from AI, especially when you think about things like pick-up lines.”
messaging assistant
Apps like Rizz and YourMove AI also allow users to upload screenshots of their online conversations to an AI scanner that suggests ways to respond.
Dating apps like Bumble already have built-in prompts to help people chat more easily.
Jevan Huston, an AI and dating app researcher and Hintze Law Associate, said these types of texting aids could play an important role in getting people to meet in person, and this could be an important part of getting people to meet up online. It is said that this is often a major goal for people who date.
Assistive technology can ease people’s fears and “enable them to participate when they otherwise cannot.”
Many say these texting assistance apps are often subscription-based and can be expensive online. Forbidden. For example, Rizz offers his 3-day free trial, but a one-week subscription costs $9.99 and a one-year subscription costs $99.99.
In any case, let’s say the user finally gets the date they wanted. Some of you may still be in a catch-22.
“AI doesn’t help with real-life conversations,” Coduto said.
“If you’re communicating solely through AI, or you’re actually assisted by AI, I think that could definitely be a type of catfishing.”
In defense of this type of service, Houston said people often present themselves differently online, whether it’s on social media or dating apps.
Another issue concerns information disclosure. Users must decide if, when, and how to tell the date about using her AI in a conversation.
“It’s really important to start with an honest heart,” Coduto said.
Miracan said people using chat assistants “should be as transparent as someone with a prosthetic leg is transparent about the fact that they’re walking with a prosthetic leg.”
“I don’t think anyone has an obligation to announce that they’re an introvert or that they drink beer to overcome the fact that they’re an introvert and want to be more social.”
Another consideration is that uploaded screenshots capture a two-way conversation, so the other person may not be aware that their chat is being captured, shared, and possibly stored by a third party. That’s expensive.
Miracan and Cabes said their technology does not store people’s information, but only extracts and analyzes the text within conversations.
AI will date for you
Some companies are making dating less exhausting for people by creating AI-simulated blind dates.
Voler date, launched , which was founded in the US earlier this year, is one such company. In a simple onboarding process, users tell the chatbot about themselves, including their age, location, and hobbies.
The bot then uses AI to simulate a first date between the two of you.
CBC tests show AI can sometimes extrapolate information that may not be true and create new talking points, such as when avid readers say they have read a particular book when they haven’t. Did.
Once the match is complete, users can decide whether to send a message request to actually talk to the other person.
“AI may be able to reduce the amount of swiping people do on dating apps,” said Arizona State University’s Shalabi. “It’s very different from how we interact with dating apps today.”
date an AI
Last year, Replika, one of the leading AI chatbot companion companies, Blush releasedAI dating app.
It works like a dating app, but the people aren’t real. They are his AI personalities, each with their own backstory.
Omri Gilas, a social psychology professor at the University of Kansas, says these relationships, which he calls parasocial, are not healthy in the long run.
But in the short term, he says, it may create a safe space for some people to express their attachment needs.
“However, as a society we need to ask ourselves, is that the solution?”
On the website, Blush To tell The app allows people to practice dating in a controlled environment and apply those lessons to the real world, but Gilas is skeptical.
He pointed out that Blush and other similar programs include cartoons and furry characters that people can relate to.
“So, is it your practice in the real world or just a way to satisfy your tastes?”
As with other AI dating apps, there is still not a lot of conclusive data on the impact these products have on people’s behavior.
He said one thing is clear. “The further we move away from face-to-face, face-to-face human contact, the further we move away from what we should and have evolved to do.”
Regardless of where people stand on intimate relationships with AI, Houston says they should consider the prevalence of loneliness in many societies.
“If that can alleviate loneliness and provide that, whether that’s partnership, companionship, someone who will listen…I think that’s a value and I don’t think it should be ignored.”
Will these apps work?
Success can be measured in many ways, but Coduto says it’s hard to know what will happen with AI apps because there is little research and much of it is not published.
Anecdotally, Mirakyan of the YourMove AI app says he has heard success stories from users.
“Quite a few people have told me they’ve found relationships through this. [using conversation tools],” He said.
“At this point, I’m going to be responsible for at least a few kids.”
Meanwhile, Winters said the technology offers a kind of skills training, especially for men, in a world that has moved online and away from spontaneous face-to-face interactions.
He himself is no longer on the dating market. He met his girlfriend in person at his after-work event.
This is part of CBC News Social’s dating series, which explores the realities of dating singles in Canada today.
