Bumble founder and executive chairman Whitney Wolfe Herd raised eyebrows this week with comments about how AI will change the dating experience.
In an on-stage interview, Bloomberg's Emily Chang cited bots masquerading as real people and real people falling in love with bots as examples of how AI could make online dating worse. Hurd countered that Bumble's goal is to use the technology to “help build healthier, more equitable relationships.”
For example, Hurd said that in the “near future” users will be able to discuss their concerns with an AI “dating concierge” who will advise them on how to do better. And “if you really want to go out,” Hurd suggested, concierges might one day date other concierges to help users find mates. If bots have good dates, human bots will also be matched.
The audience responded with laughter, but Heard was undaunted. That way you don't have to talk to 600 people. Just scan all of San Francisco and say, “These are the three girls you want to meet.'' ”
There have been a lot of dunks on social media since Hurd's comments were picked up by NBC News and other outlets. Easiest critique? It's literally a plot line from Black Mirror.
Spoilers for a seven-year-old episode of the popular dystopian sci-fi show (not to be confused with other episodes of “Black Mirror” that tech companies are currently trying to bring to life): “Hang the DJ” is a mysterious scene in which to start. A closed society that seems solely focused on finding the best match for its members. The main character's two girlfriends have an on-again, off-again relationship, waiting for that magical first match. Eventually, they flee the premises together, only to discover that they are living in a simulation designed to test their romantic compatibility.
However, the problem is: This episode actually contains one of his rare happy endings for “Black Mirror.” We only see the beginning of the “real” Amy and Frank's first date, but there are all signs that it will work out. So, it seems like it can also be used as a matching tool!
If anyone has any reason to complain, it's the digital simulation we've been following for the past hour. They spend their entire lives trapped in a barren world, forced to endure one awkward date after another, with no jobs, no friends, no relationships, no meaning beyond the never-ending quest to find the perfect match. . And when they finally escape, they face the horrifying revelation that their entire lives have been a lie. After a few seconds, they evaporate into a digital mist.
Please let your bot date other bots. But don't stop there. Let the relationship continue for as long as they want, either seriously or as casually as you see fit. Ask them to date multiple bots or stay single for a while and see how they feel. Let them break up and start a new relationship. Give them jobs and let them start families. Let your bot live your life!
This assumes, of course, that we are talking about a perfect digital replica that can capture the human body model in all its flawed complexity. If they were just junky chatbots based on barebones profiles, the whole dating thing probably wouldn't work.