AI, flirt for me: AI powers dating app profiles, conversations to questionable degree

Artificial intelligence is about to become a more active participant in our dating lives as Match Group prepares to roll out AI-powered features that will write profiles, craft messages, and even flirt on users’ behalf. This technological shift raises serious concerns among academics about whether AI could further erode authentic human connection in digital dating, potentially worsening loneliness and decreasing real-life social skills in a landscape where many already struggle to find meaningful relationships.

The big picture: Match Group, which owns popular dating platforms including Tinder and Hinge, plans to increase its AI investments with new products launching this month that will help users select photos, write messages, and receive coaching.

• Academic experts warn that these AI features could undermine what little authentic human interaction remains on dating platforms, potentially making it harder for users to transition to real-life dates.
• In the UK alone, 4.9 million people use dating apps, with at least 60.5 million users in the US, and around three-quarters of those users are aged 18-34.

Key concerns: Dr. Luke Brunning, a lecturer in applied ethics at the University of Leeds, has coordinated an open letter calling for regulatory protections against AI on dating apps.

• The letter, signed by dozens of academics from the UK, US, Canada, and Europe, argues that using technology to solve social problems caused by technology will likely exacerbate existing issues.
• Experts warn that AI features could make manipulation and deception easier, reinforce algorithmic biases around race and disability, and further homogenize profiles and conversations.

Why this matters: Dating apps already present challenges to authentic connection, and AI could potentially worsen mental health issues and social isolation among young people.

• Users who rely on AI to communicate might struggle even more during in-person dates, potentially increasing anxiety and causing further retreat into digital spaces.
• The letter suggests that automated profile enhancement could entrench a competitive culture where users feel pressured to constantly outperform others.

Reading between the lines: Dating platforms are receiving significantly less regulatory scrutiny than social media, despite targeting intimate emotions and romantic desires.

• “I’m just surprised that dating apps haven’t been folded into that conversation,” noted Brunning, who believes dating apps should draw more attention from regulators given their similarities to social media.
• While not opposed to dating apps themselves, Brunning argues that the platforms currently serve corporate interests more than those of their users.