Ever since the advent of the internet, online dating has taken many forms and radically changed the sphere of courtship. Women in particular have become quite adept at turning to an unexpected ally in their quest for truth: artificial intelligence. Specifically, they’re leveraging ChatGPT to uncover one of the most common fibs in the dating space: men’s height claims.
First reported by Fortune, this clever use of AI was recently revealed by Justine Moore on social media. The process is pretty simple yet quite effective: upload four pictures of a potential date to ChatGPT, and the AI tool analyzes proportions and surroundings to estimate the person’s height. Moore claims to have tested this method on friends and family, with results accurate within an inch.
But why the focus on height? According to Elsa Moreck, a dating coach for men with a considerable social media following, height deception is rampant in online dating profiles. “Men lie about their height as much as women lie about their age, which is often,” Moreck states. This trend isn’t just about vanity; it actually has roots in evolutionary psychology. Wendy Walsh, a clinical psychologist and relationship expert, explains that historically, women preferred taller men for protection and to produce strong offspring.
However, this AI-powered fact-checking is just the tip of the iceberg. Women are increasingly turning to technology to vet potential dates. From online forums and Facebook groups to reverse image searches and background checks, the digital toolkit for single people is expanding rapidly.
Jeannie Assimos, a former vice president at eHarmony, estimates that at least 50% of people lie about their height on dating apps. She warns that this widespread deception can lead to cycles of hopefulness and disappointment, souring the entire online dating experience.
While AI is proving useful in uncovering truths, it’s also raising some major concerns. The gamification of dating through apps and AI has led some to worry that the human element is being lost. There’s also the unsettling trend of ‘artificial intimacy,’ where people develop emotional relationships with AI bots, potentially stunting their ability to deal with real-world relationships.
The jury is still out on whether AI will ultimately help or hinder our quest for genuine connections, but in the meantime, men might want to think twice before adding those extra inches to their profile – you never know when a chatbot might be your undoing.