Match Group is a technology company that owns the world’s largest portfolio of dating platforms. Recently, they announced that they would be investing in Artificial Intelligence to incorporate into their many applications to potentially help users find love more accurately.
The world’s largest online dating company, Match Group, has announced that they will be investing in artificial intelligence to create a new “assistant” for people trying to find love in the digital age.
According to reports, the currently unnamed AI assistant will help users create the ultimate profile for themselves by selecting pictures that they calculate will motivate the most responses. The assistant will also provide recommendations for prompts and information that should be put in their bio on their profile.
Raphael Boyd of The Guardian wrote that the AI assistant will initially perform a spoken interview with their user to create a baseline of their personality and what they want out of their dating experience. Utilizing that information it can suggest what messages should be sent to their potential matches.
Chief executive of Match Group, Bernard Kim, spoke with investors this month, stating that their main goal with utilizing AI is to enter a new phase of online dating.
“This technology is revolutionary for dating, and we’re bringing it to life across our entire portfolio. I envision AI to be felt through the entire experience, influencing everything from profile creation to matching and connecting for dates, literally everything.”
Match Group’s two most known platforms, Tinder and Hinge, lost subscribers last year, according to a report from Ofcom. The president and chief financial officer of Match Group, Gary Swidler, stated that the company is hoping to speed up the dating process for their users.
“There’s lots of information that AI can pull out of somebody else’s profile and offer help to make the matching process and the post-match process a lot better – you get better efficiency because you put in less effort and you’ve got better outcomes,” Swidler said.
Anastasiia Babash, a member of the international Ethical Dating Online project, stated that an increased reliance on AI in dating could lead to a dependency that makes interacting online without the use of AI seem impossible
“There is a risk that users who rely on AI in their dating life may potentially experience more dependency on technology and a diminishing of their personal agency,” Babash said.
“If people start to rely on AI to handle their conversations with potential dates, there’s a risk that it could result in losing the ability to engage in real, spontaneous conversations, and ultimately make it harder for people to build genuine connections.”
Babash is also concerned about whether these companies will be able to safely protect the influx in data they are collecting and utilizing to train their algorithms.
“Dating apps are constantly collecting more personal data to improve their matchmaking and interactions. This constant data collection raises significant concerns about data privacy and security. Many users may not fully understand the extent of the data being collected or how it is being used, which puts them at risk of data misuse or hacking,” Babash said.
“Additionally, the AI systems used in dating apps are often trained on data that reflect existing biases. If these biases aren’t addressed, AI could reinforce stereotypes or even discriminate against certain groups based on factors like race, gender, or socioeconomic status.”
Faye Iosotaluno, the chief executive of Tinder, said “I think it does have a chance to really revolutionise how users are engaging. We want to be super thoughtful about that.”
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
