Will AI Change How Black Women Date?

By Apryl Williams | Word In BlackOverview: Dating apps promise love and romance, but they use algorithms tuned to racist standards of beauty and attractiveness that leave Black women out in the cold.(WIB) – When I first set up my Tinder profile a couple of years ago, I expected to find a match instantly. The pool of endless potential daters, literally at the touch of a button, suggested that friendship, romance, and possibly love, were ever so near. Yet, the more I swiped, the more this hopeful feeling diminished. My matches seemed more interested in talking about my race than in developing connections. I soon found out that this is part of the emotional burden shared by millions of other Black women, like me, in the online dating world.As a researcher working at the intersection of technology, race, and society, my own online dating experience as a Black woman piqued my curiosity about the software powering these systems. Who or what decides what matches are presented to us? And are we presented with the same options as everyone else at the love buffet?As I dug deeper into the experiences of multiple Black women and other people of color, I hit...