ENESS AI fortune teller turns ATM into a psyche-reading machine

An ai interactive ATM by ENESS questions our growing trust

Australian art and technology studio ENESS presents HP*ATM – Human Psyche AI Teller Machine, an interactive installation that transforms a vintage ATM into an AI-powered fortune teller. Debuting as part of Automation Bias at FutureJuice during Illuminate Adelaide 2026, the work invites visitors to receive a personalized psychological reading, questioning the growing tendency to trust intelligent systems with our most intimate data.

Inspired by Penny Marshall’s 1988 film Big, in which a carnival machine grants a child’s impossible wish to become an adult, artist and ENESS founder Nimrod Weis reimagines the wish-fulfilling machine for the AI era. HP*ATM promises psychological insight, asking what happens when people willingly hand over personal information to technologies that claim to understand them.

all images by Sam Roberts

When psychological profiling becomes a game

Those who approach the installation can either engage with it or walk away, though even that decision becomes part of the artwork’s premise. The ones who choose to interact are guided through a sequence that combines facial analysis, palm reading, and a series of button selections. Drawing on these multimodal inputs, the system generates a personalized psychological profile presented as a lyrical horoscope, borrowing the language of fortune telling while echoing the data collection strategies increasingly embedded within AI systems.

The team at ENESS frames the interaction as deliberately ambiguous. The installation encourages participants to question why algorithmic assessments can feel persuasive even when their methods remain opaque. The playful interface masks a more unsettling proposition: how easily people accept psychological interpretation when it arrives through an engaging machine.

The oversized inflatable body of the installation is also generated using AI from a dataset of previous ENESS works before being refined by the studio; the soft sculptural form surrounds a retro ATM fitted with a vintage telephone and small details, including a traditional Japanese noren curtain that signals the machine is ‘open for business.’ These obsolete technologies point to the short lifespan of technological innovation, reminding visitors that current intelligent systems may eventually appear as dated as cash machines and landline telephones.

ENESS presents HP*ATM at FutureJuice during Illuminate Adelaide 2026

Playful design reflects on the human side of AI

For Weis, the project also reflects a recurring theme within ENESS’ practice, maintaining a sense of childlike curiosity in adulthood. HP*ATM explores the relationship between play and imagination, using humor and interaction to encourage reflection.

The installation also raises broader questions about the humanization of artificial intelligence. Digital assistants such as Alexa and Siri have normalized conversational relationships with machines, making algorithmic systems appear approachable and trustworthy. HP*ATM extends that logic into the realm of psychological assessment, suggesting that friendly interfaces should not distract from the implications of collecting increasingly intimate forms of personal data.

Presented within Automation Bias, FutureJuice’s exhibition exploring art, robotics, and emerging technologies, HP*ATM contributes to a wider conversation about how AI shapes human behavior, trust, and decision-making.

the interactive installation transforms a vintage ATM into an AI-powered fortune teller