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As someone who has moved across countries in pursuit of high-quality education, I’ve always placed learning and personal growth at the center of my life decisions. Education is something I deeply care about, and I constantly keep an eye on developments and innovations in the field.

The first major digital disruption that I personally experienced was the launch of Coursera, which is a platform where leading universities from around the world publish their courses so that anyone with internet access can learn from the comfort of home for a manageable fee. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Coursera made all its courses free for university students. I distinctly remember the joy of enrolling in subjects I had always wanted to study but never had the chance to.

The second wave of disruption came with the rise of Generative AI. Unlike online learning platforms, this wave has sparked more controversy. A recent study from MIT suggests that frequent use of tools like ChatGPT might reduce critical thinking skills over time (Chow, 2025). Yet, I would argue that on a global scale, the benefits far outweigh the downsides. Generative AI can improve social mobility in the education field, meaning students that don’t have access to top tutoring still have a shot at progressing in their studies.

I’ve seen this happening firsthand. In high school, I focused on subjects I understood best. For example, I was exceling in English because I had a very good teacher and thanks to my parents, who are economists, I was getting helps with maths and statistics. Even though I was also curious about physics and chemistry, I had no one to guide me, so I ruled out any future in life sciences. Years later, during a work placement in a healthcare company, I had to read and analyze scientific papers as a part of my responsibilities, and I needed to understand how drugs work on a molecular level. With ChatGPT by my side and asking questions like “explain TNF blockers in a beginner-friendly way”, I finally grasped the materials that once felt indigestible. It made me wonder how different my path might have been if I’d had this tool earlier.

Today, GenAI gives me the confidence to take complex classes, since I know I have a helper by my side. But also assisting with simple routine tasks, which would have otherwise taken a lot of time (Parrack, 2025). Just like any tool, if used unconsciously, it can disengage students and have an overall negative effect on learning. However, various studies have also claimed that ChatGPT can improve students’ learning performance and perception (Wang & Fan, 2025). In my case, it has definitely empowered me to go beyond my comfort zone and approach unfamiliar subjects with curiosity, rather than with fear.

Sources:

Chow, A. R. (2025, June 23). ChatGPT may be eroding critical thinking skills, according to a new MIT study. TIME. https://time.com/7295195/ai-chatgpt-google-learning-school/

Parrack, D. (2025, September 4). 20 menial tasks ChatGPT handles in seconds, saving you hours. PCWorld. https://www.pcworld.com/article/2799246/20-menial-tasks-chatgpt-handles-in-seconds-saving-you-hours.html

Wang, J., & Fan, W. (2025). The effect of ChatGPT on students’ learning performance, learning perception, and higher-order thinking: insights from a meta-analysis. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04787-y

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For centuries, humans have searched for “the one.” Fairy tales promised soulmates, Hollywood gave us cinematic love scenes, and philosophers debated whether love is fate or choice. Yet, there is something very unique about the dating scene of the 21st century: technologies are seriously disrupting the way people are building relationships, and we are not sure whether it’s for the best.

Gen Zers, for example, have almost abolished traditional ways of meeting their significant other through university, social gatherings, or bars. Prioritising efficiency and the comfort of one’s bed, people are now meeting on dating websites and apps. A Stanford University study found that in 2022, 50.5% of all new couples met online, up from just under 40% in 2017 and only 22% in 2009. More and more people are also choosing to skip committed relationships altogether, focusing instead on self-care, personal growth, or building their careers (Mitchell & Mitchell, 2025).

So why exactly young people prefer dating online?

Liesel Sharabi, PhD – an associate professor in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, has a mixed opinion of online dating. Speaking of positives, she admits that apps certainly expand people’s horizons. You might match with someone from a completely different social circle, someone you never would have met otherwise. Or you might instantly find someone to go out with after arriving in a new city, where approaching strangers in real life could feel awkward. Also, success stories do exist – many people do meet long-term partners online and report high level of satisfaction in those relationships (Chavda, 2025).

On top of that, online dating has been especially important for minorities whose chances of finding love often depend on these platforms. For example, people with disabilities, particularly those with mobility issues, find relief in being able to connect with others without the barriers that physical spaces might impose. Similarly, LGBTQ+ communities have long relied on dating apps as safe spaces to connect, especially in places where queer people might feel isolated, invisible, or even unsafe expressing their identities openly.

Dr Sharabi certainly also mentions negative aspects – couples are more likely to terminate their relationships when problems arise, instead of fixing things. With so many people creating profiles on dating apps, it starts to feel like meeting someone special isn’t scarce anymore and that “the grass is always greener” on the other side. Besides that, aspects like user’s safety, unhealthy focus on appearances and social stigma are also being touched upon. Still, overall, the pros and cons of online dating appear to be relatively well balanced.

AI entered the chat: does online dating have the potential to become dangerous?

Signing up on a dating app usually follows a familiar script. You start by picking a handful of photos that capture your best angles, then write a short bio to sum up who you are (or at least who you want to appear to be). With your digital self now ready, you are now swiping across other people’s profiles, initiate conversations and hope for them to respond back.

Now is when the real danger begins. Tech-savvy people can power their online dating experience with AI at almost every step. Instead of struggling with good old Photoshop, people can now give commands to GenAI to alter their features, whether it’s the background, or more personal things like clothes and hair color, to attract more users to their profile. Putting your heart into writing a bio is also no longer necessary: you can simply ask an AI copilot to browse through hundreds of sociological studies and generate a bio designed for maximal social success. The scariest part is that you don’t even need to spend time on the app interacting with people – chatbots that do this job already exist, completely erasing the authenticity of genuine human conversations. People familiar with some principles of software engineering can program their profile to such an extent that AI will swipe on people itself, chat with them itself, and even add appointments to your calendar with the time and place of the dates.

And this may only be the beginning. With more and more people showing interest in virtual reality and creating profiles in the metaverse, the risk is that dating might stop transitioning into offline life altogether. Instead of using apps as a bridge to meet in person, many could end up building entire relationships within digital worlds, where avatars replace real faces and interactions feel safe but detached from reality. Recent studies suggest that nearly half of men and a significant share of women are open to dating in the metaverse, drawn in by the promise of immersive environments and unlimited customization (Chakraborty et al., 2023).

And what can you do to make your dating experience meaningful in this digital world?

Balance might be the key. Although technology can be a fantastic tool for broadening your horizons, it shouldn’t take the place of the messy, flawed, and genuine aspects of developing a relationship. Use apps to connect, but instead of swiping endlessly, spend time getting to know the people you are matched with. Keep in mind that your special quirks and flaws are often what make you memorable, so be careful about how much you rely on AI to edit your photos or write your bio. Above all, whenever possible, take conversations offline because the chemistry of in-person interactions cannot be replicated by an avatar, chatbot, or algorithm. Ultimately, love still flourishes in the real world even though it may be changing.

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