Forget swiping endless profiles. Dating apps are applying artificial intelligence to recommend where to go for the first date, suggest what to say, and even search for a partner who looks like your favorite celebrity.
Until lately, smartphone dating apps like Tinder lets you see in real-time who is available and “swipe” if you want to meet someone. It is then left it up to the users to ask someone out and then make a date go well.
But to combat the rising fatigue from scrolling through profiles in vain, the digital dating sector is looking towards AI in dating apps to help plan meetings in real life and work as a dating coach.
These latest usages for AI, such as the technology of programming computers to generate human processes such as thinking and decision making—by dating apps were highlighted at a Web Summit in Lisbon.
Online dating pioneers are announcing that they are developing an AI-enabled feature that encourages users to meet in person after they have been chatting for a while in the app.
The future of digital matchmaking
Will we have digital assistants searching for our potential matches, or will our smartphones assign compatibility percentages to another single nearby, or will the virtual reality be the first-dates of tomorrow? These dating scenarios sound like TV episodes, but they’re closer to reality than you may imagine.
People don’t always understand what they actually want in a match. Therefore innovations such as AI in dating apps can help resolve that uncertainty. Machine-learning can observe which profiles you look at and for how long it can analyze the contents of your chats, and it can even interpret regular patterns in how you swipe.
As AI in dating apps has become more progressive, it can also track behaviors outside of the dating apps. Like overseeing which websites you frequently visit, the types of articles you read, which Netflix shows you prefer, and also examine images on your camera roll. All of this information will then be utilized to enhance your matches.
Online dating apps have started executing video features on their apps as well. For example, Tinder lately launched a feature that enables users to join two-second looping videos to their profiles after feedback that a still image doesn’t always sufficiently define someone’s personality.
These technological improvements assist online dating apps in becoming better matchmakers. Still, it leaves users questioning whether these apps are doing anything to ensure they’re protected against fake profiles, predators, and scammers.
The future of digital dating is better, but is it secure?
There always have been concerns about the safety of online dating and for the right reasons. But what exactly are online dating apps doing to make sure the safety of their users?
Though dating apps have a “safety tips” page, it’s usually buried somewhere in their Help Center and can only be accessed by users who are actively searching for it. Tinder has a “date safety tips” page, which also needs the users to do some digging to reveal it on their website.
A bulk of sites urge users to report aggressive or inappropriate behavior and even employs a staff to monitor accounts for fake profiles, abuse, and scams. While offering advice for secure dating, it is helpful and flagging and banning dangerous accounts removes the possibility of repeated behavior, but is it truly enough?
Few businesses remain unconcerned, even silent, but others have stepped up to start addressing how they can make sure user safety.
Improvements with AI Analytics
For instance, Tinder has an option for the LGBT community members to temporarily hide their gender identity or sexual orientation on their profiles, so they don’t become the victims of individuals or government agencies.
Tinder is also adding a panic button that, when initiated, will alert emergency services of a user’s personal information and location in case they’re in danger and can’t reach 911.
Other companies are also encouraging action where other online dating apps won’t. Several businesses are designing AI technology that can scan dating sites for scammers and fraudsters and notify other users of their presence.
It generates “reputation profiles” with “reputation scores” that benefit users reveal necessary information like civil court and criminal records, photos, and links to their social URLs before they decide if it’s secure to meet someone in real whom they met online. Also, they use facial recognition that assists users to verify whether the person they’re talking to is really who they say they are.
Wrapping Up:
Is online dating more trustworthy today than it was years ago? Yes, but not by much. Though online dating still has a long way to go, AI in dating apps has considerably improved the initiatives taken by them to protect their users.
The other platforms working in association with dating apps to encourage users to verify the trustworthiness and genuineness of another person’s dating profile, we’re well on our way to a more secure future.
