Sean Rad, co-founder and former chief executive of Tinder, speaks at the 2018 Web Summit in Lisbon on November 7, 2018. AFP
Sean Rad, co-founder and former chief executive of Tinder, speaks at the 2018 Web Summit in Lisbon on November 7, 2018. AFP

Dating apps turn to AI to help users find love



Forget swiping though endless profiles. Dating apps are using artificial intelligence to suggest where to go on a first date, recommend what to say and even find a partner who looks like your favourite celebrity.

Until recently smartphone dating apps - such as Tinder, which lets you see in real time who is available and "swipe" if you wish to meet someone - left it up to users to ask someone out and then make the date go well.

But to fight growing fatigue from searching through profiles in vain, the online dating sector is turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to help arrange meetings in real life and act as a dating coach.

These new uses for AI - the science of programming computers to reproduce human processes like thinking and decision making - by dating apps were highlighted at the four-day Web Summit in Lisbon which ends on Thursday.

Online dating pioneer eHarmony announced it was developing an AI-enabled feature which would nudge users to suggest meeting in person after they have been chatting in the app for a while.

"There is a lot of activity on dating apps but by and large there is not a lot of dates," eHarmony chief executive Grant Langston told the annual tech gathering.

"Guys don't know how to ask. It's astounding really how many people need help and we think we can do that in an automated way."

British dating app Loveflutter plans to use AI to analyse chats between its users to determine their compatibility and suggest when they should meet.

"We will ping a message saying 'You are getting along really well, why don't you go on your first date'," said Loveflutter co-founder Daigo Smith.

Loveflutter already suggests places to go on a first date that are equidistant from both people's homes using information from Foursquare, an app that helps smartphone users find nearby restaurants, bars and clubs.

"It kind of takes the pressure off organising that first date," said Mr Smith.

Tinder founder Sean Rad said AI would "create better user experiences" and predicted iPhone's Siri voice assistant would in the future act as a matchmaker.

An entirely voice-operated dating app called AIMM which uses AI to mirror a human matchmaking service is already being tested in Denver where it has about 1,000 users.

When you open the app, a soothing voice asks questions about what you like to do on a date or where you would like to travel.

It then suggests suitable matches based on your personality. Once you have picked one you would like to meet, the app tells you about them.

After several days the app will help set up a time for a phone call between you and your match - and give advice for your first date based on what it knows about the other person.

"It will say things like 'based on her personality inclination she is a traditional person, I would recommend dinner and a walk'," said Kevin Teman, the app's developer.

The app also reminds you to ask questions "about the things that are important to you" during the date, he said.

After the date, the app checks in with both people to see how it went and recommend whether they should continue to see each other or keep looking.

Mr Teman hopes to make it available across the United States early next year.

Badoo, a London-based dating app, is now using AI and facial recognition technology to let users find a match that looks like anyone at all, including their ex or a celebrity crush.

Users can upload a picture of someone and the app will find lookalikes among Badoo's more than 400 million users worldwide.

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian, Oscar-winning actress Emma Stone and singer Beyonce are the most searched for celebrities globally since Badoo introduced the feature - called Lookalikes - last year.

However not everyone is convinced that AI can aid the search for love.

Among the doubters at the Web Summit was UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who said he was "a little bit sceptical" it could help people chose their soul mates.

"I'm very happy I have chosen my soulmate by traditional methods," said the former Portuguese prime minister, who is married to a Lisbon city councillor, in his opening address to the gathering on Monday.

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Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

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Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

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Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

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Our legal advisor

Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.

Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation. 

Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.

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Rating: 3/5

How to volunteer

The UAE volunteers campaign can be reached at www.volunteers.ae , or by calling 800-VOLAE (80086523), or emailing info@volunteers.ae.

Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

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How to wear a kandura

Dos

  • Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
  • Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
  • Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work 
  • Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts 

  • Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal 
  • Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
World Cup warm-up fixtures

Friday, May 24:

  • Pakistan v Afghanistan (Bristol)
  • Sri Lanka v South Africa (Cardiff)

Saturday, May 25

  • England v Australia (Southampton)
  • India v New Zealand (The Oval, London)

Sunday, May 26

  • South Africa v West Indies (Bristol)
  • Pakistan v Bangladesh (Cardiff)

Monday, May 27

  • Australia v Sri Lanka (Southampton)
  • England v Afghanistan (The Oval, London)

Tuesday, May 28

  • West Indies v New Zealand (Bristol)
  • Bangladesh v India (Cardiff)
Tuesday's fixtures
Group A
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Iran v Uzbekistan, 8pm
N Korea v UAE, 10.15pm