Experimenting with Grindr’s AI Wingman: A Humorous Peek into the Future of Dating

“I Took Grindr’s AI Wingman for a Spin. Here’s a Glimpse of Your Dating Future”

“As the guiding force behind Grindr, the world’s biggest gay dating app, Scott Chen embarked on a surprising new venture last summer: studying artificial intelligence at Stanford.” Once known for taking the reins of the world’s premier platform for queer dating, Mr. Chen has now diverted his attention to immersing himself in the perplexing realm of artificial intelligence at Stanford. Quite a versatile chap, isn’t he?

Now, before intellectual snobs raise their eyebrows – here’s the kicker. He has no plans of switching his major from dating apps to nerdy algorithms. Instead, he’s been stirring this AI potion to give his beloved Grindr a shiny, sophisticated makeover. His motivation behind this not-so-trivial intellectual endeavor? A groundbreaking and ludicrously ambitious project known as ‘AI wingman.’

For those out there clueless about this cutting-edge contraption, let’s break it down, shall we? Imagine you’re sitting in a bar, shooting glances at the cute individual at the other end, but too scared to make a move. What if that very moment, a virtual wingman taps you on the shoulder, presents an extensive analysis of the person’s profile, and even provides a customized script for you to woo them successfully?

That, my dear friends, is the wonder Mr. Chen believes AI can pull off. He plans to train this AI wingman to master the art of non-verbal cues, capture subtle social dynamics, understand niche cultural references, and even read the ever-confounding mystery that is the human mood. In essence, this digitized companion aims to pick up all the social micro-signals we either miss or choose to ignore.

Mr. Chen seems to remain undeterred by the daunting task of fusing human nuances into machine learning. However, the stakes are incredibly high. There are major factors to consider here, ethics being the formidable one. Privacy concerns, consent management, and the risk of creating a tool that could potentially be used for deception loom large over the project.

Yet, Chen is unperturbed. He dismisses these concerns as “details” that need to be ironed out and remains focused on his goal: to create a tool that would bring about not just matches, but genuine connections. Oh, the dream.

The world will watch how this ambitious vision unfolds. Will Grindr’s AI wingman end up as our next best friend, or will it crash and burn in the junkyard of Hawaiian-shirt-wearing, drink-buying virtual wannabes? Only time will tell.

Read the original article here: https://www.wired.com/story/hands-on-with-grindr-ai-wingman/