Japan Plans to Use A.I. to Help People Find Love, Get Married and Make Babies

By Ammar Haziq  •  10 Dec 2020 in News

Thirsty for JUICE content? Quench your cravings on our Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp

The Japanese government has been trying to boost the country’s declining birth rate for decades. And now, their newest initiative which uses robots looks like it came straight from a sci-fi film.

It won’t be like a Black Mirror episode, of course. Instead, the Cabinet Office wants to raise the country’s birth rate through indirect means, like increasing the number of new marriages using Artificial Intelligence (AI) programmes, reported Livedoor.

According to people behind the initiative, around 25 of Japan’s prefectures currently have some sort of government-run matchmaking services for singles.

Like standard dating or matchmaking apps, users provide their preferences, age, income and education level, and the service works its magic to find the one that suits you, acting as the mediator for those who wish to get married.

However, the Cabinet Office thinks the country’s current dating systems aren’t advanced enough to actually help singles towards romantic connections, so the government is utilising AI to help people find someone they’d actually be compatible with – outside of their preferences.

The AI system would work by asking users questions about their hobbies and personal values, which will then be factored into finding matches that have high probability of marriage.

As of now, a dozen prefectures have government-run AI matchmaking systems. Since it’s the government’s plans, the central government will pay two-thirds of the cost for introducing and operating them.

Japan’s number of annual marriages fell from 800,000 in 2000 to 600,000 in 2019, so many are hoping that the new AI system will lead to an increase in knot tying and baby making.

The question is, however, do robots know what true love is?