Japanese government uses artificial intelligence to boost marriage rate

Earlier in the month, we reported on a new services offered by a real estate company that puts couples together on blind dates to view properties.

If that sounds a bit outlandish, wait till you hear what local governments think the solution is to boosting the marriage and birth rate in Japan.

You’ve guessed it: artificial intelligence.

The buzzword of the decade is not only going to change everything from graphic design to how movies are made (and no doubt, how porn is produced), but also how we find prospective partners.

Matchmaking events and services are now using AI to filter attendees who would seem more compatible.

The central government is keen to support these efforts by regional counterparts to fight depopulation, and funding for government-run AI matchmaking events has been on the rise since fiscal 2021 (we first wrote about the huge amount of money the central government was committing to these AI projects back in 2020).

Reports Kyodo News: “According to the Children and Families Agency, 31 of Japan’s 47 prefectures offered AI matchmaking services for finding marriage partners as of the end of March last year, with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government joining them in December.”

Ehime Prefecture’s system uses your personal information and (uh-oh) browser history to recommend a partner. Its “marriage support center” helps 90 couples get married each year.

Other, perhaps less invasive systems ask you to answer over 100 questions and AI then analyzes your answers to match you with a potential partner.

Kyodo quotes a woman in her thirties who met her husband-to-be via an AI service. “I had some resistance and anxiety about using the system at first, but I am glad I had the courage to register.”

Ultimately, all this money from the central and local governments is for one reason: babies. The government bureaucrats only care about the economic benefits that arise from replenishing the population.

The real question that needs to be asked is: Do these marriages last? And are they happy?