AI is permeating almost every aspect of our daily lives. And even, thanks to a new application, when it comes to finding a soul mate.
Tinder, Bumble, Grindr, Fruitz… No, these are not the names of trendy cocktails, but rather a sample of the myriad of dating applications that have proliferated since the turn of the century.
Many people use them to get to know strangers and, why not, find a soul mate. But it is clear that the first exchanges are not always easy, and AI seems ideally suited to make the work easier. All it takes is a little humor…
Speed dating 2.0
Do you remember the episode of the series Black Mirror titled Hang the DJ ? We discover an application that simulates interactions between users in order to predict their romantic compatibility. If we can see it as a romanticized vision of how the algorithms of Tinder or Meetic work, our application of the day comes closer.
Volar is a dating service that’s a little different from the competition. Instead of getting our information and preferences with a form, it asks us questions using a chatbot analogous to ChatGPT. Thanks to this conversation and the data it was able to glean, the AI is able to create a bot that will imitate our conversation style and interests as best as possible.
This digital copy then goes to meet those of other users. A series of messages are then exchanged between the chatbots, like on other dating apps, allowing them to learn more about their human counterparts. The latter can finally read these discussions and, if they are convinced or intrigued, start a conversation between representatives of the human race.
Intermediaries who are not intended to replace us
While the concept may make you smile, it actually responds to a problem observed among users of dating applications. As our colleagues at WIRED : “ A 2022 study found that almost 80% of people in different age groups felt exhausted or emotionally fatigued when using » this type of service. After more than a decade of swipe Left and right, Tinder and others no longer seem to make dating as pleasant as before, and the first exchanges between people connected could be one of the reasons.
In any case, this is what Ben Chiang, creator of Volar and former product director for Snapchat’s My AI, which we were able to test last year, says. According to him, breaking the ice often proves “ very painful », and this is precisely where AI can have a real role to play. However, he specifies that it can only act as a catalyst: “ It is not meant to replace human beings “. Before adding: “ It’s always up to you whether you make a connection or not “.
Chiang further assures that Volar, although powered by AIs that need data to progress, does not use user data for this. The exchanges are encrypted and would only be used to train the chatbots to reproduce human behavior.
Ridicule does not kill
WIRED was able to test the service, and its results seem… interesting to say the least. During an exchange with another user’s chatbot, the journalist’s chatbot began the conversation by asking: “ If you had a pet and it accidentally dropped an atomic bomb, what would it have done? “. This question is quite surprising, especially since Volar never asked any questions on the topic of nuclear power at the time of registration.
When asked about this, Chiang explained that conversations are moderated to avoid inappropriate topics. However, he emphasizes that the interaction observed by the media is “ bordering on idiotic and inappropriate “. This isn’t entirely surprising, however, given that the responses from programs like ChatGPT can sometimes come off as farcical. But, after all, don’t we need a little laughter to break the ice?
If we had to be content with the experience of WIRED without being able to test Volar ourselves, it’s because the service is currently only available in the United States, on the web and on iOS. While waiting for it to expand a bit, you can always try more original methods to find love. After all, it worked well for some Waze users.
Source : WIRED
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