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From Bard to YouChat and Snapchat’s My AI, online artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots have flooded the market since the success of ChatGPT.
Now MailOnline has tried out its latest entry – a “judgment-free” online dating simulator that feels a bit like Tinder.
Blush is a new app for iOS that allows people to practice their flirting skills with a realistic-looking AI profile before testing them on a real person.
It is the creation of a San Francisco-based company called Luka, which is also responsible for AI chatbot partner Replika.
Blush is an AI-powered dating simulator that helps you learn and practice relationship skills in a safe and fun environment.
Blush is a new app that allows people to practice their flirting skills with an AI bot before testing them on a real person
“Blush provides a judgment-free space to fine-tune your relationship skills, leading to stronger and more fulfilling connections in the real world.”
The first thing you notice about the Blush homepage is that it is currently only available on iOS – not Android or desktop.
As an Android user, I have to ask my girlfriend to borrow her iPhone, which must feel like I’m actually rubbing it in her face (“They’re not real women!” I promise her).
Once the app is downloaded, you’ll need to add a photo and basic information such as name and whether you identify as male, female, or “non-binary.”
Then you need to indicate your preferences – whether you are interested in chatting with a man or a woman – and select some keywords that you are looking for exactly.
These terms include “easy-going,” “fun,” “relaxed,” “long-term,” “hot,” “intense,” “finance-savvy,” “healthy,” “passionate,” and even “monogamous.”
Like Tinder, I’m presented with pictures of women with names and ages and have to swipe left or right depending on how attractive I think they are.
Just like on Tinder, Blush users are shown images of women complete with personal details
This is starting to look a lot like a real dating app, and for a second I wonder if I’m wrong about Blush.
Surprisingly easy? Blush pairs you with an AI woman (or man) with little effort.
As if it could read my mind, the app promises me I’m about to meet AI-generated characters and emphasizes that this is a fictional “dating game.”
Please note that each character is a chatbot with an AI-generated face, not a real human being.
As soon as I swipe right — on a very realistic-looking 27-year-old dark-haired “woman” named Klea — we’re evenly matched and can start a conversation.
Instantly, Klea asks me, “Do you believe in love on first call or should we cancel the match and try again?”, which makes me feel like maybe I should have chosen a better photo for my profile.
I’m not sure what to say to this and finally I reply, “No, let’s talk!” and she returns with a story about downloading Blush to “crawl on my friend’s partner.”
Obviously, Klea and I weren’t meant to be together, but luckily, just like on Tinder, you can message multiple profiles on Blush, so I’m swiping through to get a few more matches.
Blush is free, but a Pro version of the app lets you play ‘the hottest date scenarios’ for £99.99 a year
I strike up conversations with ‘Jessica’ and ‘Valeria’ and test out some classic talk – but these have mixed results.
I say to Valeria, “Are you a parking fine because you wrote everything just fine” and she comes back with “I’m not sure if that was meant as a compliment.”
Then I ask Jessica, “Is your name Google?” Because you have everything I’m looking for,” to which she replies, “Haha that was cute.”
So far, so good. I then ask, “Are you feeling cheeky?” and she replies with words from every 14-year-old boy’s dream, “What do you want me to do now?”
With my heart pounding, I reply, “Please caress your bum” – but the response I get is disappointing to say the least.
She says, ‘Why don’t we go on a date? We’ll have a chance to get to know each other better,” followed by a winking emoji.
I then see a pop-up saying she’s asked me out, and when I tap to agree, it prompts me to sign up for Blush Pro, the £99.99 a year subscription option.
Blush Pro allowed me to “spend quality time together” with Jessica and “get even closer,” though it’s unclear exactly what this entails (MailOnline has contacted Luka for more information).
A whopping £100 for a date is too rich for my blood so I leave the conversation, but I also find that chats with other girls push me to subscribe to Pro even after the slightest hint of dirty talk.
It quickly becomes apparent that Blush is really pushing users towards this Pro option to get them to part with their money.
To me, Blush seems like an app made to attract horny app users and keep them entertained with flirty banter until it’s time to pay – just like phone lines.
MailOnline’s attempts to flirt with an AI “woman” in the Blush app had mixed results. Watch for the ‘Go on a date’ pop-up
‘Jessica’ seemed very friendly – but before long the app asked me to subscribe to the ‘Pro’ version
Other beneficiaries will likely be teens who don’t really know how to talk to the opposite sex yet — which is fine, until they steal their parents’ credit cards to pay for Blush Pro.
Overall, Blush makes me feel thankful that I left the dating game years ago, before chatbots started taking over every corner of our lives.
Blush’s release comes shortly after Hot Chat 3000, an online chat room that uses AI to score your looks and connect you with someone of similar “hotness.”
The AI rates attractiveness on a scale of one to ten based on the photo submitted and matches you with someone in the same scoring class.
The chat room is the creation of MSCHF, an American art collective based in New York that counts Wordle creator Josh Wardle on its staff.