Tucker Bryant, an artist and former Google employee, has created ChatTJB, an unconventional chatbot where he personally responds to user questions instead of relying on artificial intelligence. According to WIRED, Bryant developed the project to encourage people to reflect on the “strange moment” society is experiencing with AI technology.
The chatbot operates as a commentary on the current AI landscape, inverting the typical automated chatbot experience by having a human provide the responses. WIRED reports that Bryant spoke with them about his motivations for the project, positioning it as an artistic statement about our relationship with AI technology.
The project represents a satirical take on the proliferation of AI chatbots, highlighting the paradox of human labor behind seemingly automated systems. By creating a “chatbot” that is explicitly human-powered, Bryant’s work draws attention to questions about automation, human interaction, and the nature of AI assistance in contemporary society.