AI-powered dating is hype. IRL cruises are the future

I admittedly am a big flirt. I love exchanging ideas and getting to know another person. The playful joke. The dopamine rush. The sexual subtlety and subtext of everything that isn’t said. To me, flirting is still one of the last human endeavors in which people intentionally try to find common ground. It is pure possibility, absolute magnetism. It is also an art that cannot be faked or – despite Silicon Valley’s best attempts – perfected by AI.

Of course, that hasn’t stopped Big Dating from going all-in on virtual intimacy this year, with the focus shifting from endless swipes to AI-powered matchmaking. As the narrative surrounding dating fatigue reached new heights, the trend toward genuine connection was a long-overdue correction to an industry that had built itself over the last decade on ruthless scale, insane ambition, and profit incentives, only to realize that the answer was always in front of them: You win by investing in people.

The integration…