My intuition is that the AI thing will be a closer experience to journaling than to confession. It's a more convincing facsimile of a conversation, but a bee colony is a living thing in a certain way that an AI definitely isn't right now. This conception is an important part of the experience, in the same way that talking to a mute but living cat is a different kind of experience than talking to a furby.
Though I sincerely practice prayer and confession which ironically probably makes me an unreliable witness to their mechanisms and value in this venue.
You would still be a more reliable witness than someone who has never done so. The ideal would surely be someone who used not to, and can remember how they felt both before and after starting to practice.
Though I sincerely practice prayer and confession which ironically probably makes me an unreliable witness to their mechanisms and value in this venue.