Bumble Founder's 'AI Could Date For You' Has Indians Saying, 'We Have AAI Doing it For Years'

The future of dating might just get a digital makeover, with AI-powered matchmakers doing the heavy lifting, according to the brain behind a popular dating app. Whitney Wolfe Herd, the founder of Bumble, spilled the beans during her talk at the Bloomberg Tech Summit in San Francisco, hinting at how AI could lend a hand to women on the hunt for connections.

Herd suggested a concept that sparked interest online, though it wasn’t universally embraced. She envisioned a scenario where individuals could employ AI dating assistants to act on their behalf when engaging with potential partners online.

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“There is a world where your dating concierge could go and date for you with other dating And then, you don’t have to talk to 600 people. It will scan all of San Francisco for you, and say, ‘These are the three people you really ought to meet’.” she explained during the summit.

But hold on, isn’t this a bit like what families, especially moms in India, have been doing for generations? Before sealing the deal on their child’s marriage, they dive into contacts, meetings, and research to find the perfect match. Sounds familiar, right? And that’s exactly what many Indians hilariously pointed out after Herd’s ‘AI’ idea went viral.

As some cleverly noted, “That’s actually the older way how “AAI” system works in India, mothers talking to each other, first meeting prospective bride/ groom and then they get married.” Another quipped, “Your आई will meet other people’s आई and recommend the best matches for you.” A third chimed in, “Indian people already invented this it’s called an arranged marriage.” And a fourth exclaimed, “They are recycling our ideas.”

Jokes apart, Herd doubled down on the positive potential of AI, emphasising, “Our focus with AI is to help create more healthy and equitable relationships. And that also starts with yourself. How can we actually teach you how to date? How can we help you show up in a better way? For example, you could, in the near future, be talking to your AI dating concierge and you could share your insecurities. ‘I just came out of a breakup. I have commitment issues.’ And it could help you train yourself to a better way of thinking about yourself. And then, it could give you productive tips for communicating with other people.”

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However, not everyone is sold on the idea. Some found Herd’s vision “depressing,” believing it could further diminish meaningful human interactions in a world already lacking in them.