- Tinder’s new Game Game feature lets users practice flirting with AI personas
- The voice-based encounters provide real-time feedback on your charm
- Users are rated on a three-flame scale to gamify the experience
I’m very happily married, but the memories of excruciating anxiety in attempts to flirt are carved into my brain forever. Just getting up the nerve to start a conversation felt like a victory. Perhaps it would have felt less intense after practicing with someone who has absolutely no chance of rejecting me, like, say, an AI character. That’s what Tinder thinks. The dating app has released an AI-powered experiment called ‘The Game Game,’ which produces artificial conversational partners and fictional situations for you to practice those pick-up lines.
Despite the April 1st release, The Game Game is a no-fooling real voice-based feature built into Tinder’s iOS app. Using OpenAI’s GPT-4o AI model, the feature lets you practice flirting with AI characters. Play out a scenario like you’re 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 access it by tapping the Tinder logo in the corner of the app, where you’re dealt a stack of virtual cards. Each one contains a random persona, albeit one based on your age and other preferences. That persona is matched to an often cheesy meet-cute scenario in a random location. Whatever it is, the AI initiates the conversation, and you respond with your voice.
And the voices are all different, with accents, cadences, and tones that are unique. You actually talk out loud to your phone, interrupting each other and talking about the scenario as if you’re casually bantering with a charming stranger in real life. You can see a couple examples of the scenarios and the ‘people’ I talked to below.
Flirting AI
I’ll admit, I went in skeptical, but it was actually a pretty smooth interaction that didn’t feel stilted at all. I could imagine attempting to work on my initial conversational gambits with it. The real-time feedback doesn’t just tell you whether you “won” the scenario; it nudges you. If you’re too sarcastic, the AI might suggest you dial it down. If your answers are a little flat, it might prompt you to open up. Based on how you handle yourself, the AI scores your “date” using a three-flame rating system, a flirtatious Michelin rating.
That gamification is likely a major draw for some who like the idea of a somewhat objective rating. Of course, the AI isn’t perfect. Sometimes, the responses felt canned, repetitive, or just a little off. There are guardrails in place so users can’t veer into wildly inappropriate territory, which might be overly limiting sometimes, though it does keep the vibe light and weird in the right way.
I don’t think The Game Game will be universally loved, as it comes off as a somewhat gimmicky concept. And some people may worry it’s another step toward outsourcing genuine human interaction. But I think most people know it’s just a simulation with sophisticated technology that lets you rehearse for real people.
The Game Game is only available for a limited time on iOS in the U.S., but I wouldn’t be surprised if Tinder brings it back and expands access should it prove popular. Whether the practice translates to real-life success, well let’s just say puns are a hit-or-miss tactic with both AI and real people.
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erichs211@gmail.com (Eric Hal Schwartz)
