- Tinder’s new game game feature allows users to practice flirting with AI -Personas
- The voice -based meetings give feedback in real time on your charm
- Users are rated on a three-flame scale to the gamify experience
I am very happily married, but the memories of dishonest anxiety in attempts to flirt are carved in my brain forever. Just standing up the nerve to start a conversation felt like a win. Maybe it would have felt less intense after practicing with someone who has absolutely no chance of rejecting me, such as An AI character. That’s what Tinder thinks. The dating app has released an AI-driven experiment called ‘The Game Game’ that produces artificial interlocutors and fictional situations that you can practice these pick-up lines.
Despite the 1st April release, the game Game Game is a no-hooling real voice-based feature built into Tinders iOS app. Using Openais GPT-4O AI model, the feature allows you to practice flirting with AI characters. Play a scenario like you are at an airport and your AI-Generated love interest has accidentally picked up your identical suitcase. Sparks fly. You charm them. Or at least you try.
You can access it by pressing the Tinder logo in the corner of the app where you have processed a stack of virtual cards. Each contains a random persona, albeit one based on your age and other preferences. This persona is matched with an often cheese-like meeting-cute scenario in a random place. Whatever it is, AI begins the conversation and you respond with your voice.
And the voices are all different with accents, cads and tones that are unique. You actually speak out loud to your phone, interrupt each other and talk about the scenario, as if you randomly turn with a charming stranger in real life. You can see a few examples of the scenarios and the ‘people’ I talked to below.
Flirting AI
I have to admit, I went in skeptical, but it was actually a rather smooth interaction that did not feel styled at all. I would imagine trying to work on my original conversation -gambits with it. Real -time feedback doesn’t just tell you if you “won” the scenario; It pushes you. If you are too sarcastic, AI may suggest you call it down. If your answers are a little flat, it may ask you to open up. Based on how to handle yourself, AI scores your “date” using a three-flame rating system, a flirty Michelin assessment.
This gamification is probably a big feature for some who like the idea of a somewhat objective assessment. Of course AI is not perfect. Sometimes the answers felt canned, repeated or just a little away. There are protective frames in place so users cannot weigh in wildly inappropriate territory, which may be too limiting sometimes, though it keeps the mood light and weird in the right way.
I don’t think the game will be universally loved as it comes out like a somewhat gimmicky concept. And some people may worry that it’s another step toward outsourcing real human interaction. But I think most people know it’s just a simulation with sophisticated technology that allows you to practice real people.
The game game is only available for a limited period on iOS in the US, but I would not be surprised if Tinder brings it back and expands access if it turns out to be popular. Regardless of whether the practice translates into success in real life, let’s just say that word games are a hit-or-miss tactics with both AI and real people.
