Can dating websites predict your soulmate? Not really
Although dating websites claim they can predict attraction between two people, and as much as we want them to be right, a new study suggests unravelling the mystery of real-life romance cannot be done by a computer.
Led by Samantha Joel from the University of Utah, the study set out to see if a computer could predict attraction before real-life meetings, including who we will desire online, who will be desirable to others online, and how much desire there will be between two specific people.
The team used data from two samples of speed daters, who filled out questionnaires about more than 100 traits and preferences before meeting each other in a series of four-minute dates. After that participants were asked to rate each interaction and the level of interest and sexual attraction they felt toward each person they met. Researchers used a cuttingedge machine learning algorithm to see if it was possible to predict attraction between two people based on their responses. However, although they were able to predict the overall tendency for someone to like and also to be liked by others, they could not predict, which two people would be a match. “Dating can be hard and anxiety provoking and there’s a market there for a short cut. Our data suggests at least with the tools we currently have available, there isn’t an easy fix for finding love,” said Joel.