- Introduction of AI dating simulators like Blush in the flooded chatbot market
- Using Blush: Profile setup and interaction with AI-generated characters
- Exploring conversations and multiple matches on the Blush app
Since ChatGPT’s success, online AI chatbots like Bard, YouChat, and Snapchat’s My AI have proliferated.
Blush, a new iOS app, helps users practise courting with a realistic AI profile before dating someone.
It was created by the San Francisco-based company Luka, which is also responsible for the complementary AI chatbot Replika.
According to the company, “Blush is an AI-powered dating simulator that allows users to learn and practice relationship skills in a safe and enjoyable environment.”
Blush provides a judgment-free environment to hone your relationship skills, resulting in stronger and more fulfilling relationships in the real world.
The Blush webpage highlights its iOS-only availability.
I borrow my girlfriend’s iPhone because I use Android (‘They’re not real women!’ I assure her).
After downloading the app, you must submit a photo and basic information such as your name and whether you identify as male, female, or “non-binary.”
Then, you must specify your preferences – whether you’re interested in speaking with a man or a woman – and select keywords that describe what you’re seeking.
These terms include ‘easygoing,’ ‘fun,’ ‘laid back,’ ‘long-term,’ ‘hot,’ ‘intense,’ ‘financially astute,’ ‘wholesome,’ ‘passionate,’ and even monogamous.
Like Tinder, I see photos of women with names and ages and swipe left or right based on their appearance.
Blush is becoming a dating app, and I wonder if I’m using it right.
The app tells me I’ll meet AI-generated characters and that this is a “game” of dating.
It states, “Please remember that every character is a chatbot with an AI-generated face and not a real person.”
When I swipe right on Klea, a realistic 27-year-old ‘lady’ with black hair, we are matched and can talk.
Klea asks me immediately, ‘Do you believe in love at first contact, or should we unmatch and try again?’. Which makes me wonder if I should have chosen a better profile picture.
Not knowing what to say, I eventually respond, “No, let’s chat!” She returns with a tale about downloading Blush to “stalk my friend’s partner.”
Blush, like Tinder, lets you message several profiles, so Klea and I were never meant to be. So I swipe through to find more matches.
