Terrible news from the world of online dating. As if a parade of dubious romantic prospects and dead-end chats wasn’t bad enough, artificial intelligence has dipped its toe into the dating pool.

Eleven years ago, Tinder helped to turn dating into a series of quick-fire interactions on the internet. But for some jaded users, even writing “Hi” to a romantic prospect is now too much effort. Tech start-ups such as Rizz and YourMove AI are gaining a foothold in the sector by offering AI assistance in creating witty opening lines and appealing profiles.

Meeting strangers on the internet is by nature a random affair. Artificial chat is at least a less sinister way to help that process along than asking users to swab the insides of their mouth, as DNA-dating app Pheramor once did. But a proliferation of AI-assisted conversations suggests that eventually dating apps will simply be full of computers trying to woo other computers.