by R. Gil Student
Matchmaking is an act of kindness on multiple levels, creating families and relieving individuals and their families of the stress of finding a match. Traditionally, families pay a successful shadchan, matchmaker, a fee known as shadchanus. What happens when an artificial intelligence app makes the suggestion? Imagine that an AI matchmaking service evaluates thousands of profiles, identifies a compatible couple and recommends that they meet. The couple dates and eventually marries. Is the owner of the app entitled to shadchanus, even though he never considered this particular couple and may not even know who they are? Or is no payment required beyond any minimal app fees because no human being actually performed the matchmaking?
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.torahmusings.com/2026/11/when-ai-makes-the-shidduch-who-gets-credit/