We all want love. The problem is, how does one find it? For thousands of years, humans relied on personal attraction, matchmakers, dating, and myriad other ways to attract a mate. Today, many people use apps like Tinder, Bumble, or Hinge for example.
Dating apps are the best and worst thing that has happened to mankind. On the one hand, it has given us the ability to find thousands of people with no effort. On the other hand, the apps have made us lazy, picky, and too discerning.
There may be no going back as we now have millions of potential partners at our fingertips and are not just limited to our little village.
But what if the apps are taken to a new level and incorporate AI? While AI can be used for nefarious purposes such as generating fake profile text or creating fake profile images, AI is used for several great reasons to help us find love.
For instance, AI can help personalize our experience and narrow down choices to people we would most likely want to meet. It can also help introverted people start a conversation.
One of the main barriers to finding love is language. If we can only meet people who speak our language, we are cut off from potential partners who only speak a different language.
But what if AI can now help us, through a multi-lingual avatar, speak to anyone we want around the world?
Nvidia-backed Generative AI firm Synthesia for example has introduced new software that allows companies to make multilingual video presentations using just your phone or webcam.
Taking this one step further, the technology can be personalized for individual users. In its recent keynote event introducing the software, one of the biggest new features the firm showed off was an option to make AI-generated avatars by recording footage using a webcam or your phone. The firm demonstrated how users can also clone their voice to have the avatars speak in multiple different languages.
This could be perfect for dating.
As long as users adhere to the truth and there are vetting standards in place like there are today, people can meet anyone around the world and converse in any language.
Of course, for now this only works through technology and meeting in person and speaking in two different languages will remain difficult until technology improves, and auto-translation apps do a better job at recording and translating.
At the moment there are apps such as Google Translate which can be used to listen to a recording in one language and then translate it into any number of other languages. This can be used for conversation but only in a halting and disruptive way that blocks the natural flow of conversation.
The question is whether we can develop AI technology that acts a bit like the character Janet from that Netflix show “The Good Place”, where she becomes available just by mentioning her name and helps with any information you need.
While still a far way off, the ability to speak to anyone and understand them while conversing in two different languages is drawing closer and, thanks to AI, the language barrier will become history.