Dating company Snack has launched a new feature that allows users to construct avatars and allow them to go on virtual dates with each other. When I say “dates”, I really mean both sides show some level of interest and then the avatars have a bit of a chat with each other to exchange more information.
Snack initially made waves a couple of years ago when they implemented an algorithm that would penalise ghosters by turning that person invisible and unable to be matched. So they have form in trying out new things.
Boomers and Gen-Xs who only dated in a physical context and were also very limited in terms of the pool of people that may be available - will find this especially disconcerting and “weird”. These are the same cohort couldn’t fathom why someone would date using tinder when you could just “go out and meet someone”. Not really understanding the issues of geography, contemporality, demographic shifts, reduction in third spaces and safety concerns that younger, urban generations find themselves in compared to earlier ones.
I can see people complaining about how Gen-Z lack spontenaeity, that they are disconnected from people and only living in the digital realm - especially as more of these tools start to surface. However, I think this neatly illustrates the convergence of numerous technologies and use cases. It’s just that Snack have realised where the puck is heading and got there first.
While there’s a little bit of AI-gimmickry occurring here with Snack (which I am sure won’t harm their valuation), it’s another data point in a landscape that is increasingly digitising ourselves or using AI bots to do work when we are otherwise engaged. These include the use of AI for things like real time call screening (already available on all high end Android phones), credible email responses (see Bing and Google launches in this space this week) and even personality doubles (eg Replika).
A digital twin (or many digital twins) operating in constrained domains such as pre-date screening, interviews, applications for standardised services (eg home loans) or even negotiating for you based on a set of criteria are potential areas that are yet to be explored. With technologies like this starting to be tested, I feel like I’m not that far from being able to “brief” my digital twin to go and arrange me a two week holiday in Japan and feel confident it’s going to do a pretty good job at it.
I’ll be fascinated to see where this heads. Whether Snack survives or not is really beside the point. What we’re about to bear witness to is how AI and digitisation technologies will influence the dating behaviour of a whole generation who have become adults during a backlash against algorithms but also genuinely useful AI assistants.