In Episode 355 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with mythologist and storyteller Joshua Schrei about the cultural, social, and political consequences of the rise of Artificial Intelligence.

According to Joshua, humanity is entering an era whose only corollary is the stuff of fairy tales and myths. Powers that used to be reserved for magicians and sorcerers are no longer metaphorical, and it’s unclear if humanity has the tools and initiatory frameworks to use them responsibly. What’s at stake is our civilization, something that was obvious to the creators of the atom bomb but which seems less salient today, even though the risk of societal collapse stemming from the proliferation of AI and its associated technologies is arguably much greater.

In the first hour of their conversation, Josh and Demetri discuss the role of magic, the desire for animacy, the burden of the Anthropocene, and why we keep gravitating toward powers that might kill us. In the second hour, they examine what life in a post-scientific era could be like, whether mass hysteria and a collective unmooring from reality are symptoms of the “AI moment,” and whether what we are living through today is really a spiritual crisis that cannot be solved through technological innovation, medication, or the endless pacification of media and entertainment

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You can listen to The Emerald Podcast here and support the work Joshua is doing through Patreon here.

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Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas

Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou

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Episode Recorded on 02/28/2024