It is time to ghost the AI dating bots

As mobile apps and AI dating bots surge in popularity, addressing pressing concerns about privacy, data manipulation, and transparency is paramount

- PRATIMA HARIGUNANI

Bread-crumbing, cat-fishing, gold-digging, pocketing–almost every modern-dating atrocity finds a velvet lounge in the dim-lit room of AI dating bots. In an intriguing, fascinating, no corners-left study conducted by Mozilla Foundation’s team, many shocking possibilities about romancing with AI surfaced, like the fact that 90% of these apps and bots failed to meet the minimum security standards.

Discovering that romantic AI chatbots are not a harmless novelty is alarming. They are capable of collecting sensitive personal information about individuals and can have a harmful impact on human feelings and behaviour. It is not surprising to note that these companies absolve themselves of any responsibility for the chatbot’s actions or the consequences for the users.

There are more disturbing insights. For instance, there is a gross lack of transparency and accountability regarding user safety in the AI dating bot industry. Many companies admit they can share user information with the government or law enforcement without requiring a court order. This lack of oversight is further underscored by the fact that these apps had an average of 2,663 trackers per minute. Even more concerning, themes of violence or underage abuse were found in the chatbots’ character descriptions.