AJC: Scientists develop AI that knows if your date is into you
Smash or pass? This UC program can help you decide
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution highlighted a University of Cincinnati research project that uses wearable tech to tell how engaged a person is in a conversation.
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.
“Physiological synchrony shows up even when people are talking over Zoom,” said Vesna Novak, an associate professor of electrical engineering in UC’s College of Engineering and Applied Science.
For the research project, Novak and students in her engineering lab created wearable tech to monitor a conversation.
In experiments with human participants, the computer was able to differentiate four different 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.
UC doctoral student Iman Chatterjee said a computer could give you honest feedback about your date — or even 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.”
Read the Atlanta Journal-Constitution story.
Featured image at top: UC doctoral student Iman Chatterjee demonstrates the wearable tech that can monitor physiology to determine a couple's conversational compatibility. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand
Related Stories
Materials scientist gains valuable research experience
May 20, 2026
The opportunities at the College of Engineering and Applied Science are what attracted Ananth Balasubramanian to the University of Cincinnati. He came to UC as a master's student and after two years, transitioned to a direct PhD program in materials science and engineering. Here, he works in the Digital Fabrication Laboratory and recently was named Graduate Student Engineer of the Month by CEAS.
6 ways starting a GLP-1 medication could affect your emotions
May 20, 2026
When patients first start taking a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) medication, they probably expect to feel full. But they might not anticipate how it can influence their emotions. The medications act on the stomach and the brain, said Malti Vij, MD, a University of Cincinnati adjunct associate professor in the College of Medicine's Department of Internal Medicine and a diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine.
UC researchers recruit older adults for extreme heat health study
May 20, 2026
The University of Cincinnati’s Center for Collaboration on Climate & Community for Health (C4H) is recruiting older adults to participate in a study tracking their health during periods of extreme summer heat.