FCIF: Grindr wants AI to completely change how you find your next date

Could AI actually make the online dating and hookup experience better? That’s what Grindr, the LGBT-focused dating and social networking app, has been betting on in recent years as it debuts new features and prepares to roll out a paid premium tier offering dubbed Edge. And the company is so keen on the technology that it sees an opportunity for an even more exclusive paid option that could cost more than $6,000 per year. “We leaned into AI in a pretty dramatic way,” said the company’s CEO, George Arison, while speaking at the Fast Company Innovation Festival in New York. “We want the entire app to be AI native in terms of how people use it.” What does that mean for the millions of Grindr users who, on average, spend one hour in the app each day sending about 50 messages? Well, AI could provide more insight into potential matches, recommendations that are based on interests and not merely geography, and a better inbox experience. While many of the new AI-enabled features will be available solely to subscribers to Grindr’s Edge premium tier offering, which is expected to go live later this year or early next year, Arison said the goal is to eventually democratize them to all users.…