WFXB FOX: Computer can tell if you're a match
UC trained a computer to identify types of conversations based on the participants' physiology
WFXB Fox-TV highlighted research by engineers at the University of Cincinnati who taught a computer to recognize types of conversations based on the participants' physiology alone.
Researchers studied a phenomenon in which people’s heart rates, respiration and other autonomic nervous system responses become synchronized when they talk or collaborate. Known as physiological synchrony, this effect is stronger when two people engage deeply in a conversation or cooperate closely on a task.
In experiments with human participants, the computer was able to differentiate four conversation scenarios with as much as 75% accuracy. The study is one of the first of its kind to train artificial intelligence how to recognize aspects of a conversation based on the participants’ physiology alone.
The study was published in the journal IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing.
Lead author and UC doctoral student Iman Chatterjee said a computer could give you honest feedback about your date — or yourself.
“The computer could tell if you’re a bore,” Chatterjee said. “A modified version of our system could measure the level of interest a person is taking in the conversation, how compatible the two of you are and how engaged the other person is in the conversation.”
UC Associate Professor Vesna Novak said this field of affective computing could provide feedback to educators, therapists or other people who want to understand what's really going on in interpersonal dynamics.
Featured image at top: UC engineering students connected to sensors have a conversation while UC Associate Professor Vesna Novak monitors their physiological responses on a computer. Photo/Andrew Higely/UC Marketing + Brand
More UC engineering in the news
A computer screen shows the physiological responses of a person engaged in conversation. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand
- Jerusalem Post: New app can tell if you're a match
- Science Daily: Smash or Pass? This computer can tell
- India AI: Is your date a 'smash' or 'pass?'
- Gadzetomania (Poland): This computer can tell if you're a match
Related Stories
How phone scammers use your own voice against you
September 18, 2026
The Wall Street Journal recently did a deep dive on how artificial intelligence is making scamming people over the phone much easier, citing research by Kimberly Hyun, assistant professor of marketing at UC’s Lindner College of Business.
Gas prices spike... Again
September 18, 2026
UC economist Gary Painter goes through the tactics companies use to keep their consumer bases amid rising oil costs.
University of Cincinnati and Hamilton County work to lower overdose deaths
September 17, 2026
University of Cincinnati researchers and Hamilton County officials are using overdose data to identify Cincinnati hot spots and place free NaloxBoxes and fentanyl test strip dispensers where they are needed most to help prevent opioid overdose deaths.