Artist gathers anonymous AI confessions from strangers across U.S. cities

Olivia Tai, a San Francisco-based artist-researcher, has turned a bright red sign and a cardboard box into a mobile confession booth that travels through San Jose, San Francisco, New York and other venues. She asks strangers to write down a secret about how they rely on artificial intelligence and deposit the note anonymously, later digitising the submissions on a dedicated site. The project, titled "What We Tell AI," has gathered a range of stories, from friends sharing ChatGPT-crafted wedding vows to a user who used AI voice cloning to say goodbye to an ex-boyfriend.

Tai organises the notes by location, stores them in small bags, and updates the online archive continuously. She hopes the personal anecdotes will spark broader conversation about emerging AI norms, a point underscored by a recent Elon University-YouGov survey indicating that 27 % of U.S. adult internet users have significant emotional or social interactions with AI. The initiative has attracted interest for potential expansion to Mexico, Australia and China.