Key Takeaways

Is it reasonable to expect artificial intelligence to understand human connections? This is the question Hinge’s CEO and co-founder, Justin McLeod, attemped to answer at the annual conference, Sessions Live.

McLeod, along with technologist David Barcay and clinical psychologist Dr. Sherry Turkle, addressed a common fear in the dating industry: that artificial intelligence will eventually replace authentic intimacy. He described Hinge’s plans to balance innovation and digital dependence. 

AI Tools Should Facilitate Connection, Not Replace It 

In theory, AI tools that generate clever icebreakers or touch up profile pics should be a dream come true. This is especially true for Gen Z, the generation dealing with the most dating app fatigue. But a common fear is that these types of tools sacrifice authenticity for convenience. 

Without authenticity, how can any couple achieve real intimacy? This is why McLeod believes that AI shouldn’t replace human connection — it should facilitate it. 

Hinge’s view is clear: App feature developers should use AI to bring out the authentic side of the user. They shouldn’t replace their uniqueness with generic words, phrases, and pick-up lines. 

AI should be a tool that organizes the user’s thoughts, not something that erases the user’s identity entirely. 

Still, some people rely on AI to depict a more confident version of themselves. It’s easy to understand why; AI doesn’t judge you when you stutter through flirtations or avoid intimacy. 

Hinge proposes using AI as a pseudo-dating coach.

McLeod described a world where dating app users can use actionable AI advice to improve their confidence levels when dating. Ideally, the dating app user will eventually be able to stand on their own two feet without the help of AI. 

Unlike AI generated chat suggestions, “We’re not trying to tell you what the answer should be,” McLeod said. “We’re just trying to nudge you along to be a bit more specific, a bit more verbose … so they show up more as themselves. We’re trying to give them that permission to do that.”

This idea isn’t exactly new; Grindr has had an AI Wingman in the works for months, and Bumble recently mentioned replacing generative AI advice with that of a living, breathing dating coach.

It’s clear that Hinge and other popular dating apps have picked up on a fatigued userbase. Some singles want solutions that are grounded in humanity, not in the flashy and robotic nature of AI.

Developers Must Use AI Responsibly, Says Hinge CEO 

Responsible AI implementation begins early in the app’s design stage, Barcay said. “The future we get is based on how we design this technology.” 

He explained how app developers must use AI responsibly rather than with profit at the forefront. This may sound a little naive (and hard to believe, when used in the same sentence as ‘Hinge’, which is owned by a multibillion dollar company), but McLeod emphasized “utility over engagement.” 

“We don’t think about just engagement or matches,” he said. “We looked all the way at the end of the funnel, and we said, we’re a dating app that’s meant to get you out on dates.” 

In other words, Hinge claims that its first priority isn’t engagement or revenue, but the app user’s satisfaction. Hinge’s tagline isn’t “the dating app designed to be deleted” for nothing.

Believe it or not, AI is still in its infancy. Barcay and McLeod agreed that now is the time to set responsible industry standards for AI automation on dating apps.

That’s includes consumer standards, too; it’s important for dating apps to establish a firm balance between what AI will provide and what people should be able to say on their own. 

“Creating experiences that are both palatable and also healthy, so that people get their needs met — that’s how I think about responsible tech design in this world,” McLeod said.