DNA Matching And Virtual Reality: eHarmony Predicts The Future Of Dating

How will technology change the way we date over the next 25 years? Virtual reality, DNA testing and wearable technology could all be part of the picture.

A recent report from Imperial College Business School in the United Kingdom, commissioned by eHarmony, explores how we'll date in the future. The report analyzed over 100 years’ worth of trend data and interviews with experts in multiple fields to predict how dating and relationships could change by 2040.

"By 2040 we estimate that 70 percent of couples will get together online, with technology revolutionising the way we find love and build our relationships," said Romain Bertrand, eHarmony UK manager, to The Telegraph.

Here are some of the report's key conjectures:

• Full Sensory Virtual Reality: In just 25 years, data could be shared so quickly that all five human senses could be digitally simulated instantaneously, creating a full-sensory virtual reality. A virtual date would be just like a real one – you could smell your date's fragrance or hold their hand – but all from the comfort of your own home.
• DNA Matching: As DNA testing becomes increasingly affordable, it could also become part of the matching process. By 2040, scientists may have a clear understanding of the role DNA plays in attraction and have developed ways to use DNA to pair compatible partners.
• Behavioral Tracking: Wearable technology and hyperconnected devices could eliminate the need for daters to describe themselves. Instead, high-tech gadgets could do the hard work for them. For instance, “Smart Contact Lenses could track the type of people you look at most frequently when your body produces the signs of attraction,” says the report.
• Deep Learning: Big data gets a bad rap, but it could be useful for singles of the future. Improved connectivity and artificial intelligence could allow for greater 'deep learning' as vast amounts of complex data are processed. Singles could receive real-time feedback and use it to improve their romantic decision making.

It's not just the single and ready to mingle who could benefit from these new technologies. Couples could use this data to improve their relationships in multiple ways, such as identifying issues and creating resolutions. Perhaps it could even be used to calculate the optimal time for major life milestones, like having children.

Bertrand is excited about the possibilities the future holds. He told The Telegraph: "From making matches between singles even more accurate based on deep learning of our behaviour, to streamlining the dating process so it’s less time consuming, and even helping couples to enhance their relationships with artificial intelligence, finding the right person will be easier than ever.”