Tokyo Government Creates Its Own AI Dating App
Finding love in the 21st century can be difficult. This is especially true in a big city like Tokyo, where long working hours and a high cost of living can put many people off the idea of dating.
According to data from 2020, Japan's capital city has the country's highest percentage of unmarried people aged 50, with around 32% of men and 24% of women having never tied the knot.
A 2021 survey found the most popular way to find potential partners in Tokyo is through dating apps.
But on many dating apps, it's easy to make a profile without confirming your identity first. You might end up matching with someone completely different from their profile, or someone who is already in a relationship with someone else.
In order to combat this, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has designed its own dating app, aimed at people aged 18 and older who live, work or study in the capital.
Anyone wishing to use the government dating app will need to share a lot of personal information first, including proof of how much money they make and documents proving they're unmarried.
They will also need to take part in an interview online, to confirm their identity.
While this process is much more time consuming than for most other apps, the government hopes this will make sure that only those who are serious about using the service will sign up.
Once everything's confirmed, new users will fill out a questionnaire about their values, and the app's AI will find a compatible match.
Then, the newly matched pair can choose a time and a place to meet in person or online.
So far, the app has only been tested with government employees, but the government plans to make it open to the public in early 2024.
