Artist Turns Himself Into a Live Chatbot After San Francisco Billboard Boost

Tucker Bryant, a 32-year-old former Google project manager, created ChatTJB as a human-run alternative to AI chat services. The concept gained traction after a $6,000 billboard in San Francisco advertised the platform as “the leading chat interface powered by AI,” with AI meaning “average individual.” Launched in April, the site saw a spike in usage following the billboard, accumulating more than 30,000 queries by early August and handling up to 5,000 prompts per hour at its busiest.

Bryant frames the project as an art experiment that comments on the growing habit of deferring to algorithmic answers, coining the term “cognitive surrender.” He answers questions ranging from cooking tips to personal advice and even draws requested images, while a select group of ten volunteers assists him. A modest “ChatTJB Pro” subscription costs $5 a month, but only a few users have signed up, and the billboard will stay up through late August.