Can AI voice robots help you land on a date? That’s what Tinder aims to collaborate with Openai for the new game.
On Tuesday, Tinder launched the game game, which aims to help you practice conversation skills by talking to OpenAI’s GPT-4O model powered by AI sounds. Games can rob a bag of bags by trading with you “a bunch of cards” each with a card with a different AI character and a “Meet Cute” scene, such as accidentally grabbing someone else’s luggage to claim for a baggage. Your goal is to score a date or phone number within the time limit. You will also get scores based on the proportion of the three Tinder flame icons.
Will frivolous chatbots produce good IRL dates?
Time limits are not only there to experience gaming. “We set up time limits because it’s just a warm-up,” said Tinder’s Tinder Relative Expert Devyn Simone at the launch. “It’s just a game. It’s not a conversation designed to replace humans. Instead, it’s actually to encourage real conversations with real people in real life.” There are five games left on a daily basis so you don’t forget to use Tinder as a real purpose for dating apps that match humans, not robots.
Tinder isn’t the only dating app that introduces AI capabilities. Hinge recently launched AI prompt editor Grindr is testing AI Wingman, and then there are apps like Rizz and Wingai that are basically AI agents dating on behalf of users. However, unlike other text-based AI Dating apps, Tinder’s new game brings a sense of reality to practice your game using OpenAI’s advanced voice mode.
As part of the game, users say soft and engaging things usually keep the conversation going, thus earning points. “AI rewards curiosity and warmth, listening, asking follow-up questions,” Simone said at the event. “It’s not about being smooth or having the best boundaries, it’s about being human.” Additionally, the game game is constructed by social psychology frameworks that inform ratings and give you tips and suggestions.
Mix after dark
In other words, gaming does not mean that it is taken too seriously. “Gambling games intentionally surpass the top – a low-risk, romping experience that is more like improvisation than a guide to perfect flirting,” a Tinder spokesperson said in a follow-up email. “It’s about helping people feel comfortable expressing themselves rather than following the formula for success.”
In other words, the key is to practice your skills in a risk-free environment so that you want to have more confidence in the real thing.
I’m humbled by Tinder’s game
So what does it feel like to play games? During the event, I had to test it. My meeting was lovely and met the lawyer AI character in a busy shopping center. We talked about what “he” was buying (law books, because you know, he is an attorney), and I did some things for the anniversary of my parents’ purchase.
The game flashed with a warning saying I needed to ask more questions. “So, what kind of law do you practice?” I panicked and learned that he was a company lawyer. When I find myself hearing a model response about why he likes corporate laws, it suddenly feels like a real-life dating scene filled with pretend interest and small talk – both of which are enhanced by the surreal premise of my conversation with the robot.
Before I could make sure we had a date, we had run out of time together – maybe I should pretend to be more interested in corporate law? Or maybe we just didn’t have a good game in the beginning. But now I can say that I have a unique experience of being rejected by robot romance. As a record, this particular session was at the highest level of difficulty, so my self had little sense of touch.
Have my flirting skills become better? With time constraints and a specific goal, I will definitely work harder to keep the conversation going so I can see how I can improve after more meetings. However, when I play the game, I find myself wondering how a person reacts to the conversation, which makes the whole experience unrealistic.
But I think that’s the point. It should be just a game, so you can get there in the real world and talk to humans instead of robots.
