AI Wingman? Here’s How Tinder and Hinge Users Can Benefit from It
If your friend is not helping you get any dates, it’s time to ditch them and turn to online dating, where your chances might improve with an AI wingman. Sure, dating apps like Tinder and Hinge can sometimes feel like a never-ending cycle of awkward intros, cringy pickup lines, and “Is that really how they look, or is this another catfish?” uncertainty.
Using an AI wingman is the futuristic solution to your dating dilemmas (because, let’s face it, not everyone can charm the pants off someone with just words). Whether you’re struggling to come up with a witty and memorable bio that will make others swipe right or don’t know how to start a conversation with your office crush who also has a profile on the app, an AI wingman might just be the key to ending your single life streak.
AI Wingman: What You Need to Know
As reported by The Guardian, Match Group, the technology company behind dating apps Tinder and Hinge, announced their increased investment in AI. Bots will be available to users to “choose which photographs will be most popular” and “write messages” to matches, especially those who are struggling with what to write.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Match Group’s head of trust and safety Yoel Roth said that with the use of AI, they could also monitor the online behavior of their users, especially those that are prone to sending “off-colour” messages which will generate Match’s apps automated prompt asking the user if they are sure they want to send the message.
“A big part of our safety approach is focused on driving behavioural change so that we can make dating experiences safer and more respectful,” said Roth
AI Wingman: Solution or Crutch?
However, not everyone is a fan of AI flirting for dating app users. Dr. Luke Brunning, a lecturer in applied ethics at the University of Leeds, said, “Many of these companies have correctly identified these social problems. But they’re reaching for technology as a way of solving them, rather than trying to do things that really de-escalate the competitiveness, [like] make it more easy for people to be vulnerable, more easy for people to be imperfect, more accepting of each other as ordinary people that aren’t all over 6ft [tall] with a fantastic, interesting career, well-written bio, and constant sense of witty banter. Most of us just aren’t like that all the time.”
Relying on an AI wingman can also become a crutch, potentially exacerbating social anxiety when it’s time to meet in person and the other party realizes the user isn’t as articulate or witty as their online persona. With the rise of AI in dating, there’s another pitfall that users need to navigate, aside from the risk of being catfished: Are they talking to a real person or an AI wingman who knows exactly what to say?
