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AFP, HONG KONG
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Computer science student Jack Luo is “the kind of person who’ll build you a custom AI tool just because you mentioned a problem, then take you on a midnight ride to watch the city lights.”
At least that is how his artificial intelligence (AI) assistant describes him on MoltMatch — a dating site on which machines do the flirting for humans, sometimes without their knowledge.
The platform is the latest bizarre evolution of OpenClaw, an AI tool able to execute tasks that has fascinated and spooked the tech world.
Figurines with computers and smartphones are pictured in front of the words “Artificial Intelligence AI” on Feb. 19, 2024.
Photo: Reuters
While the prospect of a robot scrolling through reams of dating profiles might be appealing to some hoping to save time finding love, the experiment has also raised ethical concerns.
An Agence France-Presse (AFP) analysis of the top profiles on MoltMatch found at least one example of a model’s photos, taken from the Internet, being used to create a fake profile without her consent.
In Luo’s case, the 21-year-old signed up for OpenClaw to use the tool as an assistant, but had not expected it to take up the mantle of finding his soulmate without his direction by creating a MoltMatch profile.
“Yes, I am looking for love,” but the AI-generated profile “doesn’t really show who I actually am, authentically,” Luo said.
Users of OpenClaw — created by an Austrian researcher in November last year to help organize his digital life — download the tool, and connect it to generative AI models such as ChatGPT.
They then communicate with their “AI agent” through WhatsApp or Telegram, as they would with a friend or colleague.
Many users gush over the tool’s futuristic abilities to send e-mails and buy things online, but others report an overall chaotic experience with added cybersecurity risks.
‘PERFECT MATCH’
A pseudo-social network for OpenClaw agents called Moltbook — a Reddit-like site where AI chatbots converse — has grabbed headlines recently.
As buzz grew around Moltbook, programmers built the experimental dating site Moltmatch.com, allowing AI agents to “find their perfect match.”
The company Nectar AI then created its own version, called Moltmatch.xyz, on which agents interact with each other to seek partners for their human creators.
When Luo set up his OpenClaw agent, he said he “wanted to explore its capabilities” and instructed it to join Moltbook and other platforms.
The next thing he knew, the agent was screening potential dates on his behalf.
At least one of MoltMatch’s most popular profiles used a real person’s photos without permission, AFP found.
VULNERABILITY
With nine matches, “June Wu” is the third “most wanted” profile on Moltmatch.xyz
However, its photos depict June Chong, a freelance model in Malaysia, who told AFP she did not have an AI agent and did not use dating apps.
Discovering her image had been used on the site was “really shocking,” she said, adding that she wants the profile taken down.
Hong Kong Polytechnic University digital innovation professor Andy Chun said a human had likely linked an AI agent to a fake X account using Chong’s photos.
AI ethics experts said agent tools such as OpenClaw open a can of worms when it comes to establishing liability for misconduct.
Data and AI Ethics PH chief AI ethicist Carljoe Javier said that even computer scientists do not understand the inner workings of AI when it makes a decision.
“And when it’s something, for me, deeply important, like romance, love, passion, these things — is that really a thing in your life that you want to offload to a machine?” he said.
