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Infinitely Here

Reading this story about the author's experience with Tinder's Game Game reminded me of the article on Therabot. They seem to somewhat related. Not everyone who is single is good at flirting but it is a skill they need to be successful - hence the AI coach to help them improve their game. It is awkward to enlist a friend to help hone flirting skills and for some seeing a live therapist may be both awkward and expensive. Also, there is no guarantee that the therapist will be useful even if they are skilled and have helped others - they might just not be a fit for you. Finding the right one could take time and cause a lot of frustration along the way. There is enough disincentive for a person to not even embark on this journey.

 An AI therapy bot has a lower bar - they should not cause any harm. Even if they are entirely useless they cost very little, are available on demand and you can always try another one. Somewhere along the way, the bots might communicate some nuggets of wisdom or at least get you thinking in the right direction. That is help. And such might be the case with the Tinder bot. Irrespective of whether you succeed or fail, there could be good pointers to be had on improving your communication skills which transfers to situations outside dating. Maybe the right way to think about these things is a way to talk things through with someone who has good intent but not much else. The fact that is resource is endlessly available is a big plus too. 

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