What's up with dating?

Today I heard about a dating web site that is the first (I know of) that does background checks on perspective mates. At http://www.true.com/ , the site checks member wanabes to verify that they are single and criminal-record-free. Hmmmm...what sort of change is THAT from the dating process of just a few short years ago?

OK...this is where I do a prediction. Within the next twenty (or so) years, a person will be able to send an artificially intelligent avatar to a cyber cocktail party to mingle with possible mates. The initial awkwardness, the interaction with numerous creeps just to find one nice person, the unintentional binge drinking (oops...maybe that was just me) ...are a thing of the past. Just sit back watching the Letterman-of-the-future and let your avatar do the walking...and talking. While we're at it, let's allow those artificially intellingent avatars to engage in the SEX as well. Hey...we can eliminate STD's in OUR lifetime. Just in case someone actually makes any part of my prediction a reality, I can have the satisfaction of saying, "I called it!" Do you suppose that gives me any type of legal claim to a part of the profits from the technology? Nahhhhhhh. No more than I have a legal claim to the money made from Dairy Queen on their Blizzards (even though I was grinding candy bars into milk-shakes way back in the early 70's!)