Spencer Rascoff views AI as a suitable wingman when it comes to helping people find other people on dating apps. But he doesn’t envision a world in which love connections between humans and technology become the norm.
During an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Thursday (above), the former CEO of Seattle-based Zillow Group and new head of Match Group discussed what he called a worldwide “loneliness epidemic” and why apps like Hinge and Tinder — and the AI that powers them — can help.
Asked by co-host Andrew Ross Sorkin how worried he is about people having relationships with AI instead of each other, Rascoff said it’s not a concern.
“We’re about driving human connection,” he said. “I think human connection is primal. It’s something that everybody seeks.”
Co-host Joe Kernen chimed in that an AI-human hook-up would be difficult to “consummate.”
According to Rascoff, AI goes into everything that Match Group makes, which includes Match.com, OKCupid, Tinder, Hinge and more. He called AI “the beating heart of any dating app” because matching algorithms which decide who to show to whom rely on AI and machine learning. AI is also used to improve user profiles and it surfaces in chats to offer suggestions for how to move a conversation along between people.
Perhaps he’s had repeated viewings of the movie “Her,” but Sorkin couldn’t seem to shake the idea that AI could become a viable love interest, or at least have a much stronger hand in any relationship. He asked whether we’re headed toward a society where AI agents just talk to each other on behalf of people to determine if a match can be made.
Rascoff called that view a “dystopian future” he doesn’t think we’re headed towards.
“The way we look at AI is it gets you to the good stuff faster,” he said. “I don’t think it’ll be my AI talking to your AI, but I do think it’ll be my AI helping me, kind of giving me advice, almost like a trusted friend.”
