Japan To Try Raising Birth Rate By Funding AI Matchmaking Projects

The use of technology in matchmaking and dating has become commonplace with many single individuals turning to mobile apps such as Tinder, Bumble and Hinge to try and meet new people and find love. Whilst this is a popular individual choice, it is not something typically utilised by national and local governments to boost fertility rates. However, it was recently reported that the Japanese government is set to fund AI matchmaking in an attempt to boost the number of births in the country.

Japan has been suffering issues with fertility rates and this had stagnated to 1,36 in 2019, one of the world’s lowest. In 2019 a record low number of babies born was recorded at less than 865,000. This problem has been intensified with longer life expectancy, creating an aging population. A Japan Times article said “The number of children born last year [2019] was around 40 percent of the level in the mid-1970s, when Japan last had a fertility rate above 2.0, which is required to sustain the population.” In 2015, a target was set by the Government to reach a fertility rate of 1.8 by the year 2025.

With this in mind, the Japanese Government has been seeking new ways to help citizens find love and with them now announcing that local authorities will be allocated 2 billion yen, which is equivalent to $19m dollar, to fund projects aimed at raising the birth rate through emerging technologies. This will guarantee 60 percent of the cost of the more complex AI system.

Matchmaking services run by local authorities are not new to Japan. In fact, out of the 47 prefectures in Japan more than half already offer these services, with some already employing advancements in artificial intelligence to bolster their systems, although these are expensive. The South China Morning Post reported that only some 21 couples headed to the altar in Saitama, just north of Tokyo in the year to March 2019, despite spending 15 million yen (US$144,000).

With the additional funding it is hoped that the more authorities will be able to make use of advanced technologies that can utilise additional information to make matches, rather than relying on exact matches of rudimentary factors like age and income.

Speaking to AFP, a cabinet official said “We are especially planning to offer subsidies to local governments operating or starting up matchmaking projects that use AI.” and “We hope this support will help reverse the decline in the nation’s birthrate.”

Although speaking to the BBC, socio-cultural and medical anthropologist at Japan’s Temple University Sachiko Horiguchi argued that there are likely to be better uses for the funds than AI matchmaking; “She pointed to a recent report which suggests a link between lower income levels and the loss of interest in romantic relationships among young Japanese adults. “If they’re not interested in dating, the matchmaking would likely be ineffective,” Dr Horiguchi told the BBC. “If we are to rely on technologies, affordable AI robots taking over household or childcare tasks may be more effective.”” Similarly, nearly 40 percent of the Japanese workforce are in “low-paying irregular” jobs which has been argued to have negatively impacted fertility rates as people are less likely to have young families if their employment is unstable.

In another effort to support young parents and make it easier to balance family-raising and work, the Abe government introduced free preschool education and daycare services for children aged between 3-5. Although, this policy also attracted some criticism that the Government should be boosting daycare capacity to ensure children are not waitlisted for required care.

As mentioned, technology in dating is becoming a big business globally. Tinder was founded in 2012 and had reached one billion “swipes” per day before the end of 2014, clearly demonstrating its popularity across the world. There are around 57 million Tinder users across the world and it is used in around 190 countries. Close competitor Bumble is slightly different in the fact that women are the ones to message first and now boasts around 55 million users across the world.

This provides another example of the wider applications of AI that are becoming common in our everyday lives. Many homes now utilize the power of Virtual Assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri and Google Home to help us control power outlets, with relevant attachments, play music and games, find recipes, and make lists to name but a few of their useful functions. In addition, many of the customer service bots we talk to online in the first instance are powered by AI and our data by organizations to provide tailored online adverts. With governments embracing the power of AI in areas such as matchmaking, it is likely this widespread adoption is going to continue.

It will be interesting to see whether the introduction of AI technology into local authorities’ matchmaking efforts will have any impact upon the fertility rate slump in Japan.