Valentine’s Day is set to witness a surge in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for expressing affection, as revealed by a study from cybersecurity firm McAfee. According to the report titled “Modern Love,” one in four adults (26%) intends to employ generative AI tools to compose love letters for their partners or potential love interests. Intriguingly, the study found that a significant majority of adults (67%) could not discern between a love letter written by AI and one crafted by a human.
McAfee’s research, spanning 5,000 participants across nine countries, explores the evolving dynamics of love and relationships in the digital age. A key revelation was that over a quarter of respondents were planning to utilize AI tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot to articulate their feelings to their dates and partners.
The primary motivation behind leveraging AI-powered writing tools was the perceived boost in confidence it provides to the sender (27%). The study identified the lack of time for personal letter-writing and a dearth of inspiration as the second most common reasons, both cited by 21% of respondents. Additionally, 10% believed that AI could expedite the writing process.
While nearly half of the surveyed adults (49%) expressed potential offense at receiving a love letter generated by AI, a striking 67% struggled to differentiate between human and AI-authored love letters. Generative AI tools, built on large language models, possess the capability to mimic human writing styles, making it challenging for recipients to discern the origin of the message.
McAfee’s study underscores the risk of cybercriminals exploiting AI’s resemblance to human communication for romance scams. Romance scams involve fraudulent attempts to establish deceptive relationships with individuals through false promises of love. Alarmingly, 51% of respondents admitted to falling victim to catfishing, where individuals engage with online strangers who impersonate someone else.
As the Valentine’s season approaches, McAfee urges heightened vigilance, cautioning against responding to requests for money or sensitive information, even from acquaintances. The convergence of AI and romance introduces both novel avenues for expression and potential vulnerabilities, emphasizing the need for awareness and discernment in the digital dating landscape.
