Revealed: how you could quickly see how much you like a date thanks to an app

After a first date, it’s normal to wonder if those warm, fuzzy feelings will be reciprocated.

Now experts are one step closer to an app that tells you if they “just don’t like you that much.”

Researchers trained a computer – using data from wearable technology that measures breathing, heart rate and perspiration – to identify the type of conversation two people are having.

In experiments with 16 pairs of participants, it was able to distinguish four different conversation scenarios with an accuracy of as much as 75 percent.

Lead author Iman Chatterjee, from the University of Cincinnati, said the technology could one day give you honest feedback about yourself or your date.

“The computer can tell if you’re boring,” he said. ‘A modified version of our system could measure how much interest someone has in the conversation, how well you fit together and how involved the other person is in the conversation.’

The researchers used the phenomenon of physiological synchrony as part of their design.

This is when people’s heart rate, breathing and other physical responses are synchronized when they talk or work together – an effect that is stronger when two people are deep in conversation or working closely on a task.

University of Cincinnati experts (submitted) said the technology could one day give you honest feedback about yourself or your date

A computer is trained to use data from wearable technology that measures breathing, heart rate and perspiration to identify the type of conversation two people are having

Mr Chatterjee said physiological synchrony is most likely an evolutionary adaptation that occurs unconsciously.

“It’s certainly not a coincidence,” he said. ‘We only notice physiological synchronization when we measure it, but it probably ensures a better level of coordination.’

The study participants were asked to participate in four types of conversations.

These included a positive conversation in which they happily discussed a topic on which they shared a similar opinion, a negative conversation in which they unhappily discussed a topic on which they disagreed, and two conversations on an enjoyable topic.

The computer measured their chest and nasal breathing, heart rate, skin conductance (e.g. sweat) and peripheral skin temperature.

In one trial, the AI ​​was able to identify whether a conversation was one-sided, two-sided, positive or negative on three out of four occasions based solely on what the participants’ bodies were telling them (file image)

The findings raise questions about other information computers can tell us about interpersonal relationships, researchers say (file image)

Three out of four times, the artificial intelligence was able to identify whether the conversation was one-sided, two-sided, positive or negative based solely on what the participants’ bodies were telling the machine.

Study co-author Vesna Novak, associate professor of electrical engineering, said their findings raise questions about what else computers can tell us about interpersonal relationships.

“Our next step is to see how much nuance we can separate,” she said. “We’ve shown that AI has the ability to identify positive versus negative conversations, but can you separate shades of gray that humans wouldn’t distinguish?”

The findings, published in the journal IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing, say: ‘In the future, such classification algorithms could be used to provide participants with real-time feedback on conversational mood.’