Can AI Find You Love?

In the Instagram video, a knockoff JFK Jr. towers over a beautiful woman with a raspy voice. “Are you single?” the woman asks. He smirks into the camera. “I am.”I had no choice: I clicked on the account, only to discover an endless stream of gorgeous single men looking for love. They were movie stars compared with the men I’d seen on dating apps. Where the hell was this woman finding these guys? And could I come?The man-in-the-street interviews had been filmed by Amata, one of a handful of new AI matchmaking companies that present themselves as the future of online dating. Instead of scrolling through thousands of options, users are presented with potential matches one at a time. Instead of paying to use the app, you can choose to pay only to set up a date. (Amata charges $20 a date.) There’s less chatting: On Amata, the communication window opens only two hours before a scheduled meeting, saving the getting-to-know-yous for the actual date. One woman who uses Amata told me she liked the mystery of this; the dates feel more like old-fashioned setups. And the apps attempt to limit ghosting—they don’t refund the fee if you back out of a date.But public trust in artificial intelligence in general is declining, even as the technology becomes woven into daily life. Searching for love is one of the most quintessentially human experiences. Will people really be willing to hand that search over to AI, along with information about their most intimate preferences and desires?Maybe—if they’re desperate enough.Last summer, a Forbes Health survey found that 78 percent of all dating-app users say they’re burned-out. Swiping through profiles isn’t romantic; at best, it’s a chore, and at worst, it’s a compulsion. Dating-app companies are especially worried about Gen Z. Young people who grew up online seem uninterested in finding love there. But the industry, which made $6 billion last year off the hopes of would-be lovers, isn’t about to give up on this market. Companies are bettin