Vova Zakharov
Developer, AI tinkerer, word shaker, generative metalhead
Helping our future overlords walk since 2020
/dev
I build stuff, and here’s what you’ll find: stuff that works, stuff that doesn’t, and stuff that’s still a work in progress.
I’m currently looking for new challenges, so have a look at my CV if you’re looking for new people.
Featured Projects
jukebox-webui
★ 84Google Colab-backed Web UI for OpenAI's Jukebox music generation model. Democratized access to computationally expensive AI music generation with Gradio interface.
Python, Gradio, Google Colab
almostmagic
★ 65Add AI to your app with one line of code. Lightweight TypeScript wrapper that abstracts prompt engineering complexity with single-function API.
TypeScript, OpenAI API
write
One of the first text processors with fully configurable LLM provider integration. Way ahead of its time, even if I was the only one using it.
Vue, TypeScript
mindy
Group AI chatbot. ChatGPT before ChatGPT.
Nuxt.js, Vue.js, Vuex
ollum
Evolution-inspired LLM framework where models act as both creators AND critics. Seeding → Elo-style evaluation → mutation → crossover for iterative content evolution.
Python, async-first
sympathico
Experimental neural networks without traditional weight matrices or backpropagation. Networks as 'colonies of symbolic paths' using evolutionary principles.
Python
komple
★ 13AI autocomplete for any website. Press Ctrl+Space for suggestions in any text field. Chrome extension with multiple API endpoint support.
JavaScript, Vue.js, BPE encoder
ideality-nuxt
AI ideation platform allowing creation of no-code widgets for one-click AI generations (copy, ideas, etc.) embeddable on any website. Configurable by users.
Nuxt.js, Vue.js, Bubble backend
suno-power-tools
Collection of in-browser-console tools for Suno. Includes tree-structure display for visualizing clip relationships, extensions, and inpaintings.
HTML, JavaScript
Professional Work
DDB / randddb.com (2023-2025)
Experimental AI platform at one of the world’s largest ad firms. Built enterprise-scale suite:
- Chatbot: ChatGPT-style corporate assistant with documents, images, personas, multi-user support
- Robowriter: Build-your-own-agent content generation tool
- Picmaker: Replicate-powered image generation/training
- YesYouCannes: Cannes award deck generator (idea → imagery in minutes)
- Spaces: White-label mini-platforms for agency clients
Django + PostgreSQL, Vue + TypeScript
Orcool (June-August 2025)
AI-agent-based review intelligence tool for brand marketing. Built end-to-end: automated review collection → AI summarization (SWOT, competitive positioning) → SaaS platform.
Next.js/NestJS, Cloudflare Workers, Firebase
Voicemod (2023)
Prototyper for Experience & Innovation. Built YAML-powered Discord bot framework for zero-code bot creation and local Python web API with ChatGPT interface.
Python, YAML, Discord API
/music
“AI as collaborator, not tool or replacement”
Been writing music since preteens, recently focused on AI music (since way before Suno — think OpenAI Jukebox). I view AI not as a replacement for my creativity, neither as a tool, but as a brilliant musician who can bring my ideas to life in ways I often wouldn’t have imagined. To be clear, I write most of my AI music starting from my own humming/piano playing/MIDIs, so it’s “mine” in most copyright senses.
Active Projects
GENERATED
Полу��ивые (ru. for “Half-Alive”)
Downtemple
Also on SoundCloud and Suno
All my music is open-source: vzakharov.github.io/vovas-music
/writing
Before I became a full-time coder, I worked for 22 years as a translator, editor, and copywriter. Although I don’t do it much anymore, I still find joy in stretching the writing muscles, especially with my AI co-conspirator, “synthetic buddy” Finn O’Connor, under the brand of Glitchporn.
“Caressing the cracks in reality until something breaks”
Featured Articles
Hard Times, Strong Men, and Other Convenient Memes
Systematic dismantling of the civilizational cycle meme with historical counterexamples and a warning against uncritical support for authoritarian rhetoric.
The Illusion of Thinking Different™
Critique of Apple's research paper on Large Reasoning Models — linguistic sleight-of-hand, strawman arguments, and buried data showing what they claimed to disprove.
The Post-Vacation Slump Survival Guide
Compassionate take on motivation crashes after coding breaks. Practical advice on dopamine habit loops, cognitive inertia, and joy-driven productivity.
/contact
Email: vzakharov@gmail.com
GitHub: github.com/vzakharov
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/vovahimself
X/Twitter: x.com/vovahimself
Substack: substack.com/@vovahimself