Hetoo good to be true. “From the beginning, he asked very open questions, and that was refreshing,” he said Guardian Rachel, a 36 year old entrepreneur. “He” is her correspondent on Hinge, a dating app. But what promises to be a beautiful story quickly turns into disappointment.
He is actually a “victim” of catfish fishing : a deceptive practice, in which users use artificial intelligence, especially ChatGPT, to seduce their interlocutors with more subtle conversations. According to Rachel, her Prince Charming “really wanted to get to know me better. His questions were much more thoughtful than the traditional “How was your day?” » ».
However, during their first physical meeting, the cheerfulness of their conversation had been “replaced” by a strangely monotonous person. “I felt like I was sitting across from someone I had never spoken to. I tried to have the same conversation as online, but it seemed like he didn’t know anything about me. That’s when I suspected he was using artificial intelligence.”
“I don’t think that’s honest”
As dating apps become dominant in the search for love, internet users are turning to artificial intelligence, in search of communication perfection. “When I use dating apps, I want to start an interesting conversation from the start to build a connection with the other person, but I also don’t want to spend too much time on it,” explains Nick, a 38-year-old Londoner who loves dating. catfish fishing.
According to him, ChatGPT helps him find a balance between the need to offer charm, to create a connection, without investing too much emotional energy, which would be wasted if the discussion ran out of steam after a few messages. For him, artificial intelligence is useless “if you get along well with someone and the conversation is smooth – then what’s the point of using it?”.
“I don’t think it’s dishonest. Usually I’m on dating apps myself – maybe I just ask better questions,” he believes. I’m not trying to manipulate anyone,” says Holly, 28, who uses ChatGPT to rephrase long messages. This phenomenon is more widespread than we think.
“He only came out with ChatGPT”
On Discord, a chat platform, channels are dedicated to AI and singles share tips for ChatGPT to generate effective dating messages. “For example, someone said that if you start a conversation with a girl by asking her a series of questions – her favorite movie, her dream vacation, that kind of thing – then copy and paste the answers into ChatGPT, the software will generate answers that make you the ideal match,” explains Jamil, 25.
The problem is there: by using ChatGPT, internet users disguise themselves behind a false ideal persona. Create a mirror maze. Their interlocutors believe they are connecting with a real human being, when in reality, the algorithm creates responses to reflect their desires. Francesca, 33, for example, takes responsibility for entrusting her love life to ChatGPT.
“As an autistic woman in an age when dating apps are the only way to meet people, I suffer a lot. Understanding social tones and codes is impossible for me, so ChatGPT helps me a lot,” she admits. After a third date with a young man, “I use ChatGPT for all our communication. I don’t even answer anymore; he just goes out with ChatGPT again. »
“If ChatGPT helps me stand out, why not use it? »
“Dating apps hurt everyone: you’re competing with hundreds of other people for attention, and half the time, conversations stop after two or three messages. If ChatGPT helps me stand out, why not use it?”, believes Jamil.
However, he was caught in his own game more than once, when a woman started talking about losing the family. ChatGPT handles the pain tactfully. “The message went something like this: ‘I’m so sorry you’re going through this, it must be so difficult – thank you for believing in me.’ » When he met her in person, he emphasized his support in his message. “I felt bad – I think that was the only time I thought it was dishonest. I didn’t tell him I was using ChatGPT, but I did try to contact him myself after that. »
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Now more and more internet users are smelling fraud. Because of course he has the most followers catfish fishing hiding their use of AI. But letting the conversation agent decide on the conversation also means losing the element of spontaneity, and Finally vulnerability, surrender, that requires discussion.
“Maybe I’m naive, but when you’re looking for love and someone comes along, who says the right things, who seems to think the same as you, you don’t say to yourself: ‘He must be a bot’, you say to yourself that you’ve just found Prince Charming,” explains Rachel. But the charm of the perfect prince only exists in books.
