Speculative fiction design piece on modern dating and AI algorithms.
This project was for our senior capstone thesis for the Interaction Design program. We had the choice of working individually or in a team to research, design, evaluate, and create an innovation idea to solve a specific problem.
UX/UI Design
Role
This was a group project in a team of 4. I was the user researcher and ux/ui designer. I designed the survey, competitive analysis, performed outreach and organized participants for user testing, designed wireframes and high fidelity prototypes.
Problem & Opportunity
The way people connect and date has been influenced by the way technology, specifically dating apps, have been designed. Dating apps are designed to categorize people through filters on height, ethnicity, occupation, and more. However these filters are poor indicators of a sustainable relationship and instigate discrimination by contributing to people’s biases when trying to find matches.
How might we start a discussion on modern dating and how algorithms play a larger part in our decision making than we may think?
Solution
With this in mind, we knew the most productive thing to do wasn’t creating another dating app, but rather to start a conversation about how we respond to the influence of them. Even though dating apps play a role in the issue, we still have a choice in the way we respond to them.
Key Outcomes & Results
Insights
The Inherent Bias of Algorithms and Human Decision-Making
Algorithms will always be inherently bias because they are created by humans who are inherently bias. Therefore it is not entirely the fault of the algorithm to blame in people’s decision-making processes. It has more to do with human behavior and individual choices in spite of the algorithim’s influence.
Resistance to Change: Confronting Bias in Dating Algorithms
People do not always want to change when presented with their bias. Dating algorithims contribute to physical biases people have when swiping through matches. We tested what would happen if people became aware of these biases and learned to respect the fact that not everyone will want to change.
How Dating Apps Profit from Keeping Users Hooked
Dating apps don’t make money finding you a relationship the same way casinos don’t make money when you win. They are designed to keep users hooked.
