Dating

Pokémon launched Pikachu-themed wedding rings, but there’s something nasty about them

How big is your love?

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As of late, The Pokémon Company has increased its reach to a lot of other industries outside of gaming, including lifestyle apps and wireless earbuds. Now, the ubiquitous brand has expanded to the most precious catch of them all: wedding rings.

Partnered with Japanese jewelry company Ginza Tanaka, The Pokémon Company has officially launched Pikachu-themed engagement rings and wedding bands. The list of products includes simple platinum and gold wedding bands that come in a PokéBall-style box. Couples can also get their rings engraved with their own personal customizations. (However, the company rightly suggests a variation of “I choose you, [insert name here].”)

Meanwhile, the engagement rings are a bit more ostentatious. One design is a simple silhouette of Pikachu’s face, but the face’s center holds a diamond. Another design has two Pikachu tails holding the diamond in place. Like the wedding bands, they can come in either gold or platinum.

Cute as they are, there’s something awfully weird about them, as The Verge points out. In particular, the ears of the Pikachu rings look particularly nasty. Call us skeptical, but we don’t think Pikachu had *those* for ears. And yes, while they are part of the marriage process, we don’t know if you’d want them wrapped around your finger forever.

However, if you’re not bothered by them and think they’re perfectly innocent and fluffy Pikachu ears, they retail for JPY 346,500 (approximately US$ 3,225). Meanwhile, the wedding bands range between JPY 115,550 (approximately US$ 1,076) to JPY 121,000 (approximately US$ 1,126). The collection also has a keepsake photo frame selling for JPY 13,200 (approximately US$ 123).

SEE ALSO: Pokémon Unite is the very first Pokémon MOBA game

Dating

Hotel Sogo launches ‘AI’ concept rooms

‘The future of hotels’

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Hotel Sogo AI

Popular short-stay accommodation Hotel Sogo has revealed its AI-tech concept rooms, showing guests the future of its hotel rooms.

In a video posted by Hotel Sogo on YouTube, the company showcased new services powered by AI technology.

Among them are a self-service kiosk which has a virtual assistant to speed up the check-in process. This kiosk allows guests to choose their room, length of stay, and check-in and check-out times.

Once the transaction has been settled, automated robots will guide the guests to their rooms, instead of porters. These machines are somewhat similar to Dunkin’s robot servers called Number 1 launched a few years back.

The rooms have also replaced keycard slots with scanners. Guests only have to scan the unique QR code provided to them to be able to enter and enjoy their stay.

Inside, the room supports a voice control system, so visitors can turn on the air-conditioning unit, television, and more. Furthermore, there is a wireless charging pod on one of the side tables.

To heighten the ambience, a ceiling projector is included to flash visual effects. To top it all off, even the bathroom has an automated body dryer with silver ion antibacterial treatment.

Hotel Sogo has not yet announced which branches will have such rooms, but it is definitely something couples, families, and groups of friends will look forward to soon.

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Apps

Bumble introduces AI-powered feature to combat catfishers

The Deception Detector

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Bumble AI

Even dating apps have been utilizing AI’s capabilities too. Bumble has released a new AI-powered feature called Deception Detector to combat catfishers on the app.

As the name suggests, this feature uses AI to help identify spam, scam, and fake profiles so less users will be victimized. Within the first two months of the Deception Detector’s rollout, reports for such accounts reduced by 45%.

According to research from Bumble, fake profiles and risk of scams are among the top concerns when online dating. Moreover, 46% of women surveyed expressed anxiety over the legitimacy of their online matches on apps.

Thankfully, the Deception Detector has a fast and reliable machine learning-based model to assess the authenticity of profiles. The feature has helped in blocking 95% of spam/scam profiles automatically. Dedicated human support are also on standby to keep the community safe.

This latest release is just part of Bumble’s latest innovations across its products, and aligned with the company’s history of combating misogyny, harassment, and toxicity.

Previously, Bumble introduced Private Detector which also uses AI to blur lewd nude images. Best Bees, an AI algorithm that provides higher a level of curation for members, was also recently released.

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Apps

Tinder now lets friends and family choose matches for you

It’s called the Matchmaker feature

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An essential part of the Tinder experience is getting your friends’ usually constructive critique of potential matches. If you’re someone who seeks a friend’s approval before swiping right, the dating service is making the experience official. Tinder users can now ask friends and family for matching suggestions.

Dubbed the Matchmaker, the feature will let a user’s close circle interact with their profiles in a meaningful way. Using the feature will generate a link which users can share with up to 15 different people. They don’t even need a Tinder profile to start recommending. Anyone, even those without Tinder, can participate in a Matchmaker session.

Once created, a session will last 24 hours. Participating matchmakers will go through a series of profiles for the user. As always, they can swipe right on profiles that they think will match well with their friend. After the 24 hours, the original user can review who their friends recommended to them. Recommended profiles will show up with a label. Notably, rejected profiles will still show but without any sort of mark.

To be clear, the Matchmaker feature will not replace the original user. No matter how many profiles a user’s friends recommend, only the user themselves have the final say on whether they swipe right or engage in conversation with the recommended profile.

At its best, the new feature gives users an additional filter when selecting a potential match on the platform. At its quirkiest, it allows family members to vet matches for their single loved one. And, at its worst, it’s still a bit of fun to come up with funny matches for a friend.

The Matchmaker feature is available now in 15 countries around the world.

SEE ALSO: Tinder rolls out a $500-per-month subscription tier

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