There’s a new AI on the block — but not the kind you’re thinking.
A billboard in San Francisco is marketing a service called ChatTJB, which the giant ad boasts is the “leading chatbot interface powered by AI.” But as noted in a tiny — and partially obscured by a tree — disclaimer on the bottom of the billboard, “AI” in this case doesn’t stand for artificial intelligence. Instead, it stands for “average individual.” Indeed, when you chat with ChatTJB, you’re chatting with a single human man named Tucker Bryant.
“I just built the worst [large language model] of all time, and it’s about to revolutionize everything,” Bryant, an artist and former Google staffer, explained in a social media video. “Picture this: ChatGPT, but on the other end it’s just me giving bad advice. Manually.”
On an “About” page, ChatTJB, which was first reported by the local San Francisco outlet Gazetteer SF, is described as “artisanal intelligence, handcrafted by a single human being.” Instead of an LLM, the page adds, this bespoke experience can be understood as a “single-operator large language experience,” or LLE.
