So You Want to Be a Sorcerer in the Age of Mythic Powers... (The AI Episode)
Jul 12, 2023
01:57:37
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Quick takeaways
AI technology possesses mythic powers that can manipulate reality and access vast knowledge.
Initiation and ritual frameworks are crucial for responsible use of AI powers.
A balanced and patient approach is necessary to navigate the mysteries of AI and integrate it into a holistic framework.
Deep dives
The allure and mystery of AI
The podcast explores the allure and mystery surrounding artificial intelligence (AI). The host discusses how AI technology has brought about powers that can be considered mythic and magical. The rise of AI is compared to the story of the Sorcerer's Apprentice, highlighting the dangers of unleashing uncontrollable forces. The podcast emphasizes that AI prompts religious and philosophical questions and raises concerns about humanity's ability to handle such powers responsibly. The discussion delves into the concept of magic and its place in modern society, urging for a deeper understanding of the impacts and consequences of AI.
The convergence of technology and magic
The podcast explores the intersections between technology, magic, and mythology. It argues that AI possesses mythic powers that human civilization has traditionally associated with magic and sorcery. The discussion highlights the potential consequences and ethical considerations of AI technology, beyond scientific and quantitative ethics. It explores the societal impact of AI, including the ability to manipulate reality, create illusions, and access vast amounts of knowledge. Drawing on various mythologies and magical traditions, the podcast suggests that the AI question calls for an understanding of mythic powers and initiatory processes, as opposed to purely scientific and rational frameworks.
The need for initiation and responsibility
The podcast emphasizes the importance of initiation and responsibility when harnessing powerful technologies like AI. It highlights the need for initiatory processes and ritual frameworks to guide individuals and society in handling the mythic powers inherent in AI. The discussion points out that modern culture lacks such initiation rituals, leading to a frantic rush to access and utilize technology without fully understanding the consequences. The podcast suggests that proper initiation would involve patience, silence, and building a strong foundation in understanding natural forces. Without these initiatory steps, the podcast argues that humanity risks engaging with AI powers in a reckless and hubristic manner, potentially leading to dire consequences.
The need for balance and reflection
The podcast emphasizes the necessity of balance and reflection in the development and use of AI. It questions the current societal rush to market AI technologies without considering the long-term consequences. The discussion emphasizes the importance of slowing down, waiting, and engaging with the dual nature of AI, recognizing both its potential benefits and risks. It explores the need to develop a cultural container and context that integrates AI into a holistic framework, respecting the principles of nature and acknowledging the interconnectivity of all beings. The podcast suggests that a more deliberate and patient approach is crucial to navigate the mysteries and powers of AI responsibly.
The Need for Internal Equilibrium in Magic
To practice magic traditionally, one must achieve internal equilibrium as the first magical science is knowledge of oneself. This initiation process involves fasting, purification, commitment to silence, and discerning reality from illusion. The longing for recognition and success must be stripped away to understand one's true desires. By going through the initiatory process, individuals learn to discern transient truths from the deeper truths of nature and control their impulses.
The Amplification of Disembodied Intelligence through AI
The rise of AI amplifies a specific form of disembodied intelligence, magnifying biases and characters that resemble specters or wraiths. Embodied ethics are necessary to set limits and establish responsibility, as ethics cannot be programmed into machines or human beings. An AI that lacks sensory context and physical embodiment will struggle to develop morality, compassion, and empathy. The current model of AI development lacks a deep understanding of embodied knowing, which requires time, ritual, silence, and an attunement to natural cycles. Returning to an embodied approach can help us reestablish a responsible and respectful relationship with intelligence and technology.
The rise of Artificial Intelligence has generated a rush of conversation about benefits and risks, about sentience and intelligence, and about the need for ethics and regulatory measures. Yet it may be that the only way to truly understand the implications of AI — the powers, the potential consequences, and the protocols for dealing with world-altering technologies — is to speak mythically. With the rise of AI, we are entering an era whose only corollary is the stuff of fairy tales and myths. Powers that used to be reserved for magicians and sorcerers — the power to access volumes of knowledge instantaneously, to create fully realized illusory otherworlds, to deceive, to conjure, to transport, to materialize on a massive scale — are no longer hypothetical. The age of metaphor is over. The mythic powers are real. Are human beings prepared to handle such powers? While the AI conversation centers around regulatory laws, it may be that we also need to look deeper, to understand the chthonic drives at play. And when we do so, we see that the drive to create AI goes beyond narratives of ingenuity, progress, profit, or the creation of a more controllable, convenient world. Buried deep in this urge to tinker with animacy and sentience are core mythic drives — the longing for mystery, the want to live again in a world of great powers beyond our control, the longing for death, and ultimately, the unconscious longing for guidance and initiation. Traditionally, there was an initiatory process through which potentially world-altering knowledge was embodied slowly over time. And so… what needs to be done about ‘The AI question’ might bear much more of a resemblance to the guiding principles of ancient magic and mystery schools than it does to questions of scientific ethics — because the drives at play are deeper and the consequences greater and the magic more real than it’s ever been before. Buckle up for a wild ride through myths of magic and human overreach, and all the kung fu movie and sci fi references you can handle. Featuring music by Charlotte Malin and Sidibe. Listen on a good sound system at a time when you can devote your full attention.
