In a podcast interview with The Verge's Nilay Patel, Hinge CEO Justin McLeod described integrating AI into dating apps as promising but warned against relying on AI companionship, likening it to "playing with fire" and consuming "junk food," potentially exacerbating the loneliness epidemic. He emphasized Hinge's mission to foster genuine human , Today, I’m talking with Hinge co-founder and CEO Justin McLeod. Hinge is one of the biggest dating apps in the United States — it’s rivaled only by Tinder, and b, Listen to Hinge CEO Justin McLeod says dating AI chatbots is 'playing with fire' by Decoder with Nilay Patel on Musixmatch Podcasts. Listen along with enhanced, synced transcriptions and more. Monday, Jun 23, 2025 • 1h, 7min, Hinge CEO Justin McLeod says dating AI chatbots is ‘playing with fire’ The head of Hinge compares AI companionship to j Cristofer Urbano and Andrei Botezatu, Replika CEO Eugenia Kuyda says it’s okay if we end up marrying AI chatbots. The head of chatbot maker Replika discusses the role AI will play in the future of human relationships., .