DATING IN THE FUTURE: HOW FAR WILL WE MOVE AWAY FROM REALITY?

If someone had told our parents fifteen or twenty years ago that one day we'd be able to meet potential partners without even leaving home, and that communicating with someone on the other side of the country or the world would become completely normal, they probably would have considered it science fiction. So perhaps it's worth imagining what dating might look like in the not-too-distant future.

VIDEO CALLS AND PHOTOSHOP AT THE SAME TIME

What do people hope for when they upload a photo to a dating profile, and what causes some of the biggest disappointments when they finally meet someone in person? Of course, appearance plays a major role. Some people are simply very photogenic, while others turn out to be much more attractive in real life.

And then there are photos that have been "slightly edited" to the point where they barely resemble reality anymore. But even when there's no deception involved, meeting in person or having a video call still encourages people to make themselves look their best if they want to impress someone they like. The same applies to other types of online introductions, whether someone is looking for a date with an escort girl. Sometimes it wouldn't hurt to improve the background on a video call either.

Now imagine a situation where you didn't have to do any of that yourself. You simply choose a setting and the software automatically gives you an elegant hairstyle and transforms your tiny rented room into a beautifully designed apartment. Just don't turn your cat into a tiger. Your potential date might have a fear of wild animals.

FILTERS THAT UNDERSTAND NOT WHAT WE SAY, BUT WHAT WE MEAN

Then there are those notorious dating filters. We select "looking for a serious relationship", but different people can mean completely different things by it.

For one person, a serious relationship means marriage and nothing less. For someone else, a whole month of exclusivity might already qualify as serious.

Wouldn't it be useful if artificial intelligence could understand all the nuances behind what we actually mean from a single click? Imagine how many different interpretations of "serious", or not-so-serious, relationships it could compare and take into account when choosing potential matches. The same technology could potentially distinguish between someone looking for a relationship and someone specifically searching for an escort, making online platforms much more precise about what their users actually want.

THE WAR ON BOTS, OR WILL WE DATE ARTIFICIAL PARTNERS?

Fake accounts and profiles can be incredibly frustrating, especially when people waste their time talking to someone who isn't who they claim to be. It would be convenient if artificial intelligence could identify these accounts in advance and clear the way for genuine connections. Better verification could be useful across dating platforms as well as services where users are trying to find a genuine escort girl rather than a fake profile.

Then again, perhaps in another five years we'll have actual artificial partners who won't need to hide behind fake dating profiles at all.

They'll openly say exactly what they are: an artificial intelligence, or perhaps even an artificially created intelligent being. And they'll try to give us the things we often believe are missing from real-life partners today: understanding and patience.

LOOKING FOR A MARTIAN TO START A HAPPY FAMILY WITH...

If the internet already allows someone in Australia to cross geographical boundaries and find a like-minded person on the other side of the planet, why not imagine interplanetary dating as well?

Who knows where in the galaxy love and attraction might eventually take us. Perhaps one day we'll be debating a completely new question of tolerance: should we call the inhabitants of Mars "Martians", or would a more appropriate term be something like "fourth-planet Solar System residents"?

Meanwhile, parents will be trying to convince their children not to go and study quite so far away: "Do you really have to go to another galaxy?" At least there'll be no shortage of new experiences and new people to meet.

Ultimately, human nature seems to push us towards improving and simplifying the things we already have. Dating is unlikely to be an exception.

Today, it's already difficult to imagine communication without social platforms and dedicated dating services. Perhaps in the future, simply thinking about wanting to meet someone, or pressing a single button, will be enough.

The main thing is that our desire to find living beings who share our outlook and values doesn't eventually come to be seen as some kind of old-fashioned foolishness. And hopefully love and passion will continue to make our hearts race.