Can an Algorithm Give You Advice About Your Love Life?

Remember that water-filled Magic 8 ball you used to consult? That decision-making toy has gone high-tech, thanks to a new service called Hunch, created by one of Flickr’s co-founders. The site enters information about you into an algorithm developed by MIT computer scientists. It then formulates answers to personal questions, from what you should make for dinner to where you should take a vacation. Here's how it works: Just like on matchmaking sites like eHarmony.com, users create a profile by answering questions about themselves—up to 1,500 questions, in this case. After your profile has been created, you can ask the site a specific question. Hunch’s algorithm will lead you through another series of inquiries to filter out undesirable choices and rank those that remain. Finally, the site presents you with what is supposedly your best option. Once the site suggests a decision, you can enter feedback about whether you think ...