Dating app developers love to point out that they use artificial intelligence to help users find the perfect match. But is that really the case? And can AI really help? Or, on the contrary, does it only limit your potential circle of acquaintances, depriving you of a choice?
Today we want to tell you how artificial intelligence actually works in the web dating industry, how effective it is, and what its advantages and disadvantages are.
How AI works in the field of online dating
Artificial intelligence is a program, system or machine that can simulate human behavior, perform certain tasks, and make decisions based on the results of self-learning.
A prime example of the use of AI is the streaming service Spotify. It makes song recommendations and playlists based on what you listen to, which songs you add to your library, and which ones you skip. Artificial intelligence in dating works on a similar principle. But there are nuances.
- Any AI needs time to learn
Learnability is the main advantage and at the same time the main disadvantage of artificial intelligence. First of all, in order for it to begin to select suitable partners for you, it needs to be trained. All these endless swipes left and right — this is the training. It takes up a lot of time. And if you suddenly start randomly liking and disliking photos, then you will simply “break” the AI, after which it will start recommending completely inappropriate people to you.
- AI makes mistakes, and quite often
The ideal artificial intelligence simply does not exist. It is imperfect in itself, and even more so in such an area as online dating. Therefore, for one comparatively good match, there may be several, sometimes dozens of unsuccessful ones. Even if you use a dating app like Tinder for a long time, the algorithm will still make mistakes.
- AI in dating services is still quite primitive
Owners of dating services vying with each other say that it is their algorithm that is the best of its kind and has no rivals in the world. But actually all such algorithms remain very primitive, taking into account only common interests, basic parameters of appearance, and the like. You should not expect that some supercomputer will analyze your personality in detail and in just a few minutes find the perfect match among millions of users. It is impossible with current technology.
Examples of using AI on dating sites
For clarity, let’s see how artificial intelligence works on specific examples of popular applications.
- Tinder. It has a “Super Likable” feature that predicts who you’ll like. After another swipe, a card with a selection of four people appears on the screen. This is compiled by AI. Against the one you like the most, you can put a “super like”. When you give a person a super like, your profile gets recommended to them, and the user themself receives a notification. According to the developers, this increases the chance of a successful acquaintance by three times. This is not entirely true, but the function as a whole is interesting.
- Badoo. In this application, AI does not help in finding suitable partners. Here it has a different goal — to detect and block intimate photos other users are trying to send you. According to the developers, the algorithm is 98% effective. And it’s really good. But the artificial intelligence of Badoo does not bring any practical benefit in the selection of a match.
- Iris. The application has a quite interesting algorithm at work. When you sign up for it, you will be given a series of stock photos of people. Of these, you need to choose who is attractive to you and who is not. Based on your choice, the system will try to find users similar to the photos you like. Again, in theory, such a scheme may work well, and an artificial algorithm should be able to easily find similar people. But even here everything is not so clear. First, you need to remember that users like to radically edit their photos, which is why the photo and the real appearance of a person can be very different. And secondly, focusing only on appearance when looking for a soulmate is a terrible strategy.
You don’t need to be an expert in artificial intelligence and machine learning to understand that such algorithms and approaches to finding a potential partner cannot be 100% effective. We are generally inclined to believe that their effectiveness is 15-20%, nothing more.
There is another important point here — the trust of users in such algorithms. And here everything is very ambiguous. In fact, this is what we’re going to talk about next.
The main reason why many do not trust artificial intelligence (and rightly so)
Imagine a football stadium completely filled with people — field, running tracks around it, every yard of space. You stand in the very center and you have the opportunity to meet any of these people. But suddenly a transparent cap falls from the sky, which covers you and a couple of hundred other people. The rest are out of reach. And no matter how much you want it, you will not be able to communicate with anyone on the other side of the invisible barrier. This is precisely the principle that many modern dating apps and sites work on — they do not look for ideal couples, but simply eliminate those who, in their opinion, do not suit you. And, as we said above, they are constantly mistaken.
Take Tinder. The application recommends those users who are physically close to you — in the same city or region. Some will say that this is a plus. After all, you can meet people who are nearby, chat, meet live and spend time together today or tomorrow. But what if your ideal person lives in another city or country? Tinder simply denies the opportunity for you to get to know this person. Are you ready to box yourself in? We are sure not.
And in general, millions of people around the world are wary of artificial intelligence as a phenomenon. If someone or something deprives us of the freedom of choice and makes decisions instead of us, there is nothing good in this and cannot be.
What to do and how to look for your love if you are against AI?
Sometimes the best solution is to trust chance and not rely on algorithms. In the meantime, the developers of dating sites are vying with each other about how good their artificial intelligence is, yet people are increasingly choosing not to use them.
This is where chat roulettes come on the scene — services that connect completely random users via video link, allowing you to communicate, get to know each other better, discuss interesting topics and create a strong mental connection. The so-called “chemistry” between people.
Should it be surprising that in the era of the dominance of various types of AI, users are increasingly choosing chat roulettes, such as site CooMeet, OmeTV, Chatspin, Tinychat and others? People want to be free in their choices. And no one wants to put unnecessary restrictions on themselves. There are plenty of them already these days.
At the same time, you need to remember that chat roulette is not completely random. Here you can use gender and geographic filters, search by interests and much more. But only you decide whether you need it or not. Nobody is forcing anything, and that’s refreshing.
There’s a dating world beyond AI
We do not deny that artificial intelligence can help in finding a match. And yes, there are many cases where Tinder or Badoo, thanks to AI, laid the foundation for a strong romantic relationship. But such cases are much fewer than they try to prove to us. Often, using a dating app means endless swipes, which eventually turn into a routine and does not give any positive result.
We’re also not saying that you should completely stop using such dating services. Just don’t put too much hope in them. Sometimes a better solution is to trust fate. And in this case, the best choice for you is video chat roulette. And what kind of chatroulette you choose is an individual question as there are dozens and even hundreds of options. So everyone will surely find the perfect platform for themselves. Good luck!
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