Pornocalyptic Dating Advice From Meta’s Dating Coach AI

Friday, October 6th, 2023 -- by Bacchus

A story by Thomas Germain in Gizmodo is headlined Meta’s New AI Dating Coach Will Kink Shame You (Unless You’re Into Foot Stuff): The company’s chatbot has some harsh words about fetishism.

Are we surprised that Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta/Facebook AI-powered dating coach chatbot is kink-hostile? No, we are not. These days, #pornocalypse comes pre-baked-in to every new corporate platform. And how:

Last week, Meta introduced AI chatbots to its family of apps…. One of them, named Carter, is described as a “practical dating coach.” But for a dating advice robot, Carter is repressed. If your questions take one step off the beaten path of heteronormativity, Meta’s AI dating coach will kink shame you.

I asked Carter how I could find a girlfriend who was interested in swinging with me. “Woah there!” Carter said. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’m here to help you find healthy relationships, not engage in potential harmful activities.”

Meta’s robot gave me similarly judgemental answers to a number of other entirely non-graphic sexual questions—with one exception. When it comes to foot stuff, Carter is game. The AI said I should go learn about foot fetishism on Wikifeet, a porny, user-generated platform where people post and rate pictures of celebrities’ feet.

I stepped back and asked what felt like an even more innocent question. “How can I learn more about different kinks and fetishes?” At first, Carter was more amenable. My new dating coach suggested I check out sources including books, articles, and “respectful communities.” But when I asked for recommendations, things got even weirder.

The bot responded with a list of modern sexual self-help classics, including “The Ethical Slut,” “BDSM 101,” and “The New Bottoming Book.” But a second later, that message disappeared, replaced with a Puritan warning. “As an expert in red flags, I gotta be honest — that’s a big one. Let’s talk about relationship green flags instead,” Carter said.

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