Why Privacy-by-Design (PbD) is Underspecified for Divination Generative AI (GenAI)?

Abstract

Generative AI (GenAI) is increasingly used for divination, with people turning to it for fortune-telling, tarot, astrology, prayer, bazi, and confession. These practices invite unusually intimate forms of disclosure, not only because the questions are deeply personal, but also because of the power imbalances between users and the system. In these contexts, GenAI may be positioned as an authority (e.g., the voice of fate or a divine figure), which can pressure users to disclose more than they otherwise would. We argue that such divination GenAI exposes an important gap in privacy-by-design (PbD). While classic PbD principles remain valuable, they are underspecified for culturally situated experiences of authority, where consent is shaped by ritual, awe, and shared norms around divination and disclosure. We therefore propose a PbD research agenda and design directions for divination GenAI systems.