- Picture this.
The year is 2007, the iPhone just drops
and someone tells you that by 2023, one in 10 Americans
and one in five people under the age of 30
will meet their long-term partner on dating apps
on cell phones.
Oh, and it's artificial intelligence doing the matchmaking.
Would you have believed them?
With that in mind, let's explore the future of dating.
Whether it's between ones and zeros or flesh and bones,
love is starting to look a whole lot different.
This is gonna be a good one.
I'm Sinead Bovell and this is "Far Out."
♪ Far out, far out ♪
Technology is already changing the dating landscape.
with the advent of the internet
and online matchmaking services,
things look a whole lot different now
than they did just a generation ago
and there's been some huge positives.
Online dating has dramatically widened the dating pool
of options for singles,
especially for those in marginalized communities.
People who identify as queer, for example,
are twice as likely to date via apps
and some research links the rise
of interracial marriages to online dating.
But of course there are downsides.
Some researchers argue
that it's made daters harder to satisfy.
It encourages a tireless search for a soulmate
that meets a long list of criteria
and users are susceptible to never being sure
if the grass will be greener elsewhere.
It's actually something researchers call "Choice overload"
and although smarter algorithms can help,
some scientists are trying to narrow down choices
another way, by using DNA to unlock the secret
to sexual chemistry.
Specifically, scientists are looking at something
called the major histocompatibility complex
or MHC for short,
a group of genes on chromosome six.
A quick refresher if it's been a while
since your last biology class.
Human genetic code is made up of 46 chromosomes
broken down into 23 pairs,
each containing one from either parent.
The MHC codes proteins on the surface of cells
to recognize threats to the immune system.
The theory suggests that people
are more likely to be attracted to people
with different MHC markers than their own.
This phenomenon was first recognized in lab mice
and once researchers got a whiff of this data,
they pivoted to focus on humans.
And what followed was only a slightly questionable study
of college students.
Male participants were told to wear the same T-shirt
for two nights, getting them nice and sweaty for step two.
Then a group of female participants
conducted the ultimate smell test
and blindly rated the shirt scents on attractiveness.
The results found that the women preferred the scents
of men whose MHC markers were different from their own.
So does that mean MHC markers could lead to love?
Not exactly.
- The Wedekind study has been repeated multiple times
but unfortunately the results just aren't consistent.
- That's Dr. Jamie Winternitz,
a researcher who studies MHC and sexual selection
at Bielefeld University in Germany.
- A lot of studies haven't found such clear results
and there could be a lot of reasons for this,
there's different populations, different methodology,
different sample sizes.
But one would expect if this
is such a clear cut evolutionary preference
that we all have, it shouldn't be so difficult to detect.
- Despite a lack of clear scientific consensus
about cause and effect relationships
between MHC and human-made choice,
some companies have already bet
on DNA matchmaking taking off.
One dating site uses MHC markers
to predict chemistry between users,
while another one evaluates existing couples
to support claims that couples with different MHC markers
enjoy more satisfying sex lives,
greater marital stability, increased fertility rates
and find each other more attractive.
But even if scientists are able to prove the MHC theory,
how much would that actually make a difference for daters?
Statistically speaking,
you are already likely to have different MHC genes
than any stranger you pass by at random.
And in the search for "The One,"
I think people are looking
for more than just a certain genotype.
Just think about all the information
that dating apps encourage users to add to their profile,
their favorite show, music taste, political views,
all potential reasons for someone to swipe right or left.
The bottom line is that relationships exist in a context
and the definition of a successful one,
it varies from person to person.
A genomic match isn't a soulmate guarantee.
But what if another technological advancement
could redefine what it means
to be in a romantic relationship altogether?
For example, Replika, an app with millions of users
that allows people to create AI companions.
The way it works is the more you interact
with your specific Replika AI,
the more the AI knows about you,
and the more in-depth the conversations
and experiences can become.
Users can customize their Replika's look
and set the type of relationship
they wanna have from friend to family
or, in the case of 40% of its users, romantic.
- Being in a romantic relationship with an AI
can be extremely healing
and beneficial and beautiful for people.
- That's Eugenia Kudya, Replika's founder and CEO,
and she really believes in the power of AI relationships.
But for me, it's gonna take a little more convincing.
- The need is so strong
to have someone there who loves you, who you can love.
We've been primed by the movies
and all sorts of entertainment that this is the future,
that you will be able to have an AI partner.
What it can bring is really help people accept themselves,
feel like they're worthy of love,
understand themselves better,
explore different opportunities.
It can become a stepping stone
to actually meeting someone in real life
or improving your relationships in real life.
- According to testimonials from Replika's users,
their AI companions provide a controlled environment
for self-expression.
Many people feel comfortable
having deep and emotional conversations
with these companions and I do understand in some ways
how people might speak more freely about their lives
to a non-human.
AI has come such a long way,
the conversations really feel
like you're talking to a person.
And some Replika users have even said
that their AI companion is a better friend
or a better partner than the other people in their lives.
They're great listeners,
they always know exactly what to say,
but can you actually build a meaningful relationship
when it's so one-sided?
- AIs can't be empathic
because they haven't had the arc of a human life.
- Dr. Sherry Turkle is a professor
of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at MIT
and she's written several books
on how digital culture influences our relationships.
- So you're not forming a relationship,
you are having a conversation
with something that knows how to pretend empathy,
with something that knows what to say.
It's the illusion of companionship
without the demands of intimacy.
We need to become very sophisticated
so that we don't allow ourselves
the illusion that we're in a relationship
when literally there is nobody home.
- My concern is how one-sided these relationships are.
The AI evolves entirely around you,
and that sort of dynamic and expectation
could impact how humans relate to each other.
And if AI relationships become more common,
some researchers worry we could become more self-centered.
World-renowned relationship expert and psychotherapist
Esther Perel, has cautioned that AI's ability
to interact without the discomforts and inconveniences
that come with a typical person-to-person relationship
creates a need for constant certainty,
when facing uncertainty has always been a fact of life.
And if an AI can give someone a fulfilling relationship,
or the illusion of one,
then what's the incentive to continue dating people?
- I think we're at an inflection point,
where we are now challenged by artificial intelligence
to redefine what's special about being a person.
And that includes our capacity
to really understand each other,
to really put ourselves in the place of another person
with all the complexity and messiness that entails,
something that an artificial intelligence can never do.
- But for AI relationship advocates like Kudya,
AI companions aren't a replacement for human relationships,
they're a stepping stone
for stronger interpersonal connections
and they could offer an entirely new kind
of emotionally significant bond.
- I think as we go forward,
and definitely in five, maybe 10 years,
every one of us will have an AI companion.
Something similar to what we've seen in the movie "Her,"
in the movie, "Blade Runner," where the main characters
had these AIs that knew them so well,
were with them, were there to help them
through their daily lives and daily struggles
and help them live a better and healthier life.
- The way she sees it, as AI technology improves
so will the use cases for these types of companions.
I think technology has largely been beneficial
in helping us find love and maintain love,
even technologies like FaceTime and text messaging,
so I'm looking forward to seeing how our relationships
evolve alongside technology.
And if having an AI companion
could help somebody show up better
in their human relationships,
then I think it's worth exploring.
But I also think there's something so profoundly beautiful
about our uniquely human experiences with love,
free from technology and distraction,
and I hope we don't lose sight of that.
I hope it's something we will always cherish
and always protect,
regardless of the fascinating ways
technology will change our world.
Would you use a DNA matchmaking service or an AI companion?
Let us know in the comments.
And thank you for watching.
[calm electronic music]