What if your soft spot was for sale?
Perverted extrapolations of love in the digital age.
We are living in the age of algorithms and AI. Machine learning is not only changing the way that we approach problems within the workplace, but it is rapidly entering our internal, personal lives. Revenue-starved dating platforms, eager to monetize existing users are already implementing the latest developments in machine learning to ease the process of meeting your next crush. While general-purpose platforms like Facebook or Instagram exploit the behaviors of consumption, they have yet to do so for the much more primal instinct of mating.
What if all the acumen of the algorithms employed by Facebook and Instagram was applied to something more personal, like your love life? What if the same algorithms that sort the articles you read and the content you buy were able to identify your “soft spot” and sell it to highest bidder. What if you were in the other side, what would be the price you’d be willing to pay to exploit a vulnerability?
With more and more people meeting in the digital space, the single most definitive moment of an interaction is the opening line — how do you establish that connection when the only thing between the two of you is a glowing screen? How do you say something that is engaging enough to spark interest but not specific enough to send them packing? For most, it boils down to a finely curated opening line that combines observations of the opposite user’s photos and bio. What if there was more you could do to achieve opening line bliss?
In this exercise we, Emily Dods and Mau Ruiz , imagine a twisted hypothetical where Tinder launches a new feature, a simple, yet powerful mechanism of engagement powered by AI to help people game the dating system.
Soft Spot by Tinder.
A feature that allows the purchasing user to identify what opening line will hit a potential match’s soft spot and will illicit a response. The AI algorithm identifies the words that the recipient will react best to and filters out the obvious ones that they won’t, all while scrubbing the web for publicly available interactions on websites like Twitter, Instagram, or Reddit to ensure that no ‘cringe-worthy’ lines will be used. All of this results in a perfect hook, algorithmically created, the other side will want to respond to.
The price? $6.99 per opening line. Guaranteed.
See it in action in this GIF proof of concept:
When observing the here and now, companies like Hinge are exploring when, why, and how people respond to certain opening lines. Unsurprisingly, people respond differently depending on their age, geographical location, and gender. But one thing is for sure, the idea of trying to streamline your connection with someone is not new, technological developments soon will make us ponder “How far do we go in this streamlining process?” how far is “Too far”, what’s the line between being insightful and “Knowing too much”. Technologies like this have seen the light of day already, and have been applied to other type of social interactions, for example Crystal Knows helps people with “hints” on how to interact with other professionals.
In the Black mirror episode “Hang the DJ,” Charlie Broker shines a light on the purpose of AI on multiple levels. The episode shows the audience what a coded simulation would look and feel like when used in the realm of love. Seeing something so intimate and vital to our human existence be extrapolated and exploited by algorithms strikes a deep, visceral chord. “Soft Spot by Tinder” takes this same speculative vision but displays how it could be achieved in the near future, how the tech companies that we know so well could implement this vision today. Ultimately, how this perverted extrapolation of love is possible in our very own, very personal, near future.
E+M. 2018.
This is a random, hypothetical, thought by Mau-mau and emilyjdods
