Welcome to the forefront of conversational AI as we explore the fascinating world of AI chatbots in our dedicated blog series. Discover the latest advancements, applications, and strategies that propel the evolution of chatbot technology. From enhancing customer interactions to streamlining business processes, these articles delve into the innovative ways artificial intelligence is shaping the landscape of automated conversational agents. Whether you’re a business owner, developer, or simply intrigued by the future of interactive technology, join us on this journey to unravel the transformative power and endless possibilities of AI chatbots.
In a world where we are accustomed to chatting up artificial intelligence, score one for the human touch.
A new billboard recently popped up in the colorful collage of boastful signs at the epicenter of the AI boom in San Francisco. This one for ChatTJB bragged it was promoting the “leading chatbot interface powered by AI.”
Soon people began using the service. But AI, in this case, doesn’t stand for artificial intelligence. It stands for “average individual.” And that individual is just a guy named Tucker Bryant.
Bryant jokes he has developed “artisanal intelligence, handcrafted by a single human being” – a bespoke experience that is not an LLM, or large language model, but an LLE or “single-operator large language experience.”
“Picture this: ChatGPT but, on the other end, it’s just me giving bad advice,” Bryant, a former Google staffer, explained on YouTube.
AI chatbots have become a part of daily life in America. We ask for information, advice, encouragement, therapy, even companionship. In fact, these synthetic helpers have become so ubiquitous that Bryant is worried about our dependence on them.
Too often, he says, we are letting chatbots think for us. So he’s trying to raise awareness of “cognitive surrender” – a term from researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Business School to describe how we blindly trust chatbots over our brains even when their advice can so often be faulty or false.
“We’re now so used to confident, fast and smart-sounding answers from AI that we’ve largely stopped questioning them,” he said. “Some of us are so far gone that the second we drop into that soothing dark interface, see the little thinking animation and the text coming up letter by letter, critical thinking skills go out the window.”
At first, he wanted to call his chatbot “BadGPT” but the domain was too pricey. So he settled for his own initials and began answering thousands of queries manually much to the delight of thousands of users.
“Unlike ChatGPT, my answers will be slow. They probably won’t be correct. Or maybe they could be, but they’ll be very cryptic,” Bryant said. “I want you to have such an inconvenient experience with something that aesthetically looks like artificial intelligence that the next time an LLM gives you what sounds like a reasonable answer, you remember the time ChatTJB responded to your tax question with a haiku about crows.”
“No notes. Fantastic,” one person commented on Reddit.
“Omg I love this. Just tried it out, way more interesting than ChatGPT that’s for sure,” said another.
Asked ChatTJB how he could afford the billboard, Bryant replied that he “dug deep” because he wanted one fewer billboard in San Francisco hawking “a real AI company.”
If we all become “the tiniest bit” more likely to stop and think about the information fed to us by a “smooth-talking chatbot” then his work here is done, Bryant said.
ChatTJB answers questions on everything from house paint colors to imposter syndrome.
With demand overwhelming Bryant, visitors are now greeted by this message: “Site is overwhelmed and so is average individual lol. We’ll be back.”
USA TODAY reached out to Bryant for comment. His current plan? He wants to turn the one-man query engine into a community project.
