She asked people to write down their AI secrets. The confessions came pouring in.

In a San Jose mall, Olivia Tai asked shoppers to write anonymous notes about their “AI secrets,” then posted them online under her art project, “What We Tell AI.” The 26-year-old, developing the work after earlier workshops in New York and San Francisco, said she wanted to move conversations away from abstract debates about AI and make the stakes personal. Her prompts have drawn confessions that range from ChatGPT-written wedding vows to admitting people lied to managers about using AI at work or school. A September Elon University–YouGov survey found 27% of US adult internet users report significant emotional or social interactions with AI.