AI Confessions Project | What People Are Really Doing with AI

Origins of the Confessional

Olivia Tai stood in a San Jose mall clutching a bright red sign. It read, "Everyone has an AI secret." Within minutes, passersby approached with stories about how they use artificial intelligence. Two teenagers told her that using AI for schoolwork is standard practice. They claimed anyone who avoids these tools is an overachiever. This interaction reflects a broader shift in how people integrate machine intelligence into their daily lives.

Tai is a 26-year-old from San Francisco. She launched an art project titled "What We Tell AI." The premise is simple. She asks strangers to write anonymous notes detailing their AI-related shames or habits. She then archives these notes on a website. The project started as a series of workshops in 2025. She noticed participants retreated into abstract debates when discussing the technology. To fix this, she required them to share personal admissions. The change in atmosphere was immediate. The stakes became real.

Data from the Streets

Tai took her project to public spaces. She used a cardboard box and a handwritten sign in San Francisco’s Dolores Park. She eventually upgraded to a permanent wooden installation. She transported the setup in a wheeled cart. This allowed her to gather data across San Francisco, San Jose, and New York. The notes arrived in droves. People confessed to cloning the voices of ex-partners. Others admitted to drafting wedding vows with chatbots. Many shared instances of deceiving their managers about the origin of their work.

She organized the notes by location. A friend designed a website to display the digital archive. The geographic differences are stark. In New York, residents often suspected Tai of being a content creator filming for social media. In the Bay Area, respondents treated her as a corporate scout conducting market research. People working in the tech industry were notably suspicious of the project. Despite the skepticism, she collected a trove of specific, human stories.

The Human Cost of Automation

Relationships with AI are deepening. A September 2026 survey by Elon University and YouGov found that 27% of American adults maintain significant emotional ties to artificial entities. Tai noticed this sentiment during her time in the field. She described her role as similar to a late-night radio host. She listened to the admissions and transcribed the feelings behind the technology. The notes provided a counter-narrative to the hype-driven tech industry.

These anecdotes serve as a snapshot of current social norms. The project remains ongoing. Tai reports interest from contributors in Mexico, Australia, and China. She refers to herself as an artist rather than a researcher. Her goal is to force a reflection on the habits society accepts as normal. She asks which behaviors we truly want to adopt as the technology evolves. The notes highlight that the relationship between humans and machines is no longer abstract. It is intimate, messy, and often kept hidden from view.