Russian IT developer finds future bride on Tinder using AI

An IT developer from Moscow has revealed how he used AI tools including ChatGPT to find matches on Tinder and text them on his behalf, ultimately leading to him meeting his now fiancée.

In a thread posted to X on Tuesday that quickly went viral, Alexander Zhadan, 23, revealed how he created a script that discarded Tinder matches who had fewer than two profile photos, mentioned their Zodiac sign or included pro-war statements, religious references, as well as overly “revealing” photos. Zhadan then trained ChatGPT to text the remaining matches and set up dates with them.

Despite having some awkward interactions at first, including the AI texting tool inviting a potential date to the Bitsa Park, a forest in Moscow where an infamous serial killer dumped his victims’ bodies back in the 2000s, Zhadan managed to have 12 dates with the help of the algorithm, including one with his future bride, Karina.

After meeting Karina, Zhadan repurposed the AI to analyse their chats to offer recommendations on how to “support and improve their relationship”. Zhadan even proposed to Karina based on ChatGPT’s outline of what he should say, and got a “yes”.

Karina is yet to comment on her fiancée’s use of AI, however, Zhadan said in an interview with Takie Dela media outlet that he had told Karina about his strategy late last year, long before posting the thread.

While the thread caused some to question the ethics of using AI in this way, Zhadan said in an interview with Russian media outlet Setters Media on Thursday that it was up to the online community to determine its boundaries. “Clearly, my story could change something,” he said.