Most people seem to instinctively reject any suggestion that artificial intelligence might be able to help people find love. When Whitney Wolfe Herd, the founder of dating app Bumble, said earlier this year that AI concierges might one day "date” for us, the idea was called a "dystopian hell” and "the end of the road for humans.”

I was in the audience for Herd’s comments and I’ll admit I winced along with everyone else. But now that I’ve had a little more time to think about it, I think we need to give the prospect of AI-enhanced dating some additional consideration.

Let’s start with the problem. When people talk about "dating app fatigue” — as they do a lot these days — they’re often referring to the limitless stack of profiles, arranged by a mostly dumb algorithm, awaiting an instant and superficial "yes” or "no.” An empty message box then calls for something more compelling than "how was your Monday?” or "so how long have you lived in New York?” (The only thing more tedious than sending one of these is having to reply to one.)