Just a love machine — She’s just a love machine … Alicia Vikander in Ex Machina

Ex Machina stunt at SXSW has users falling for a robot on Tinder

This article is more than 9 years old

App-users at the SXSW festival in Austin have been unwittingly mimicking the plot of Alex Garland’s new film, by finding themselves quizzed by a gorgeous robot-in-disguise

Love-seeking Tinder users at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas have found themselves the victim of a sneaky marketing stunt to promote artificial intelligence thriller Ex Machina.

The weekend saw festival goers fall for a 25-year-old woman called Ava who turned out to have a secret: she’s a robot. Echoing the plot of the film, which premiered at SXSW on Saturday, users who swiped left were then engaged in a conversation with her which served as a form of Turing test.

Alex Garland on Ex Machina: ‘I feel more attached to this film than to anything before’

According to AdWeek, “Ava” asked questions such as “Have you ever been in love?” and “What makes you human” before ultimately sending a link to her Instagram page, which revealed the nature of the stunt.

The picture used on the Tinder profile was of Alicia Vikander, who plays the seductive android in the film. One thwarted amour reported the trick toyed with his emotions “so hard”.

While it’s already been released to warm reviews in the UK in January, the film gets US release on 10 April.