The Most Popular New AI Chat Machine Is Just a Guy Responding to Your Inquiries – What if you asked a random guy your next ridiculous question instead of typing it into Claude or ChatGPT?
Tucker Bryant, a 32-year-old public speaker, artist, and former Google project manager, came up with the concept for ChatTJB. ChatTJB is referred to as “the leading chat interface powered by AI” on a billboard in San Francisco. However, in this instance, AI stands for “average individual.”
Bryant did not instruct an LLM to react to his writing style. He really takes a seat and responds to the questions on his own. He will draw a picture of a skunk with sunglasses if you ask for one. He will offer advice if you ask how to fry an egg. Perhaps. As of this writing, WIRED has not heard back from ChatTJB regarding how to become a morning person. “Thousands of people are writing in right now,” according to the website.
Bryant tells WIRED that although he started ChatTJB in April, it wasn’t until his $6,000 billboard went up in San Francisco on July 27 that it really took off. Soon after, there was news coverage. He claims that ChatTJB has had more than 30,000 inquiries as of August 6. He claims that at its height, he was getting roughly 5,000 alerts every hour.
According to Bryant, ChatTJB is “first and foremost” an artistic endeavor rather than merely a humorous piece or a social experiment.
Bryant remarks, “It was kind of an opportunity for me to provide a little bit of commentary on a strange moment that I feel like we’re in.” He doesn’t think of himself as anti-AI—in fact, he used Lovable to vibe-code the ChatTJB website—but he is realistic about the dangers of the technology.
He worries about the possibility of “cognitive surrender,” which is the acceptance of AI results with less and less inspection or critical thought. He claims that the idea caused him to consider his own arguments with LLMs, such as the occasion when he inquired over whether to wear long or short sleeves on a 65-degree day in San Francisco.
Bryant says, “And then I’m like, dude, I’ve been living in this city for whatever, like seven years.” I know how to deal with the weather, you know. Nevertheless, it seemed simpler for me to seek guidance on that from an LLM.
He continues, “I felt like I wanted to talk about it because I was like, what am I doing here?”
He has drawn a frog consuming spaghetti, San Francisco Mayor David Lurie as Godzilla, and two black cats eating grass on a table, among other things, in the last few days. According to Bryant, the written requests have been varied.
“Oh, it’s my birthday in two weeks, and I don’t really want to have a party—what do you think I should do?” Bryant adds. Others inquire about what they ought to have for supper or how to make use of the ingredients in their refrigerator.
According to Bryant, “a lot of people were interacting with this thing as a joke or as a funny thing at first.” “And then I think some of what people would share would be more personal, sincere, genuine, et cetera when they realized they could chat and get actual conversation.”
Bryant quickly admits that he is a poor artist and that no one’s advise is superior to anyone else’s. (He called it “the worst LLM of all time” on YouTube.) However, he believes that people are aware of that.
According to Bryant, “the value for them is just getting a human to bounce those questions off of, as opposed to getting super expert advice.” “Seeing it is very tender.”
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