The science of affection: algorithmic love matches on TV

Abstract

Television is a technology of intimacy, bringing things close,1 but it also promises to match people up – with advertisers, with programmes, with other people. Historically this matching has been an inexact mechanism, with television providing content to a broad public and leaving the viewers themselves to sort out questions of compatibility. Even in the more recent age of narrowcasting, streaming and on-demand services, the onus of finding a ‘right match’ still lies with viewers, who have now become their own programmers as they sort through a sea of options. Despite – or because of – this inexactness, television has been highly reflexive about its role in the matchmaking market, not only by developing intricate ratings measures to track successful viewership matches, but also by turning (romantic) matchmaking into content. Indeed, in reality-based forms television has itself long played matchmaker, making entertainment out of the often arduous process of...