Long before AI came on the scene, I had already been wondering if maybe psychic ability in humans wasn’t as woo as we thought, and really, it’s just a rare few people’s brains being able to process “big data” they were somehow downloading from a collective unconscious, spot patterns, and synthesize that data in a way that now appears to the average person as predictive or supernatural.
These algorithms that seem to know exactly what we want to see, who we are, our preferences, core identity, innermost wants and values mirror what people often say about psychics and mediums– “She [the psychic] knows me better than I know myself!”
I believe clairvoyance, clairsentience, and claircognizance are simply functions we have yet to fully understand in a clear, practical way. But really at the heart of it, it’s just cognitive science and pattern recognition, much like what powers AI.
That person you’re calling psychic is maybe just someone who has the ability to process a lot of information, both sensory and subconsciously, maybe even without realizing it themselves, and arriving at useful insights. And that totally parallels how generative AI models function– just like AI, psychics are hyper-efficiently analyzing, at a subconscious level, all the data they’re taking in, recognizing patterns that other people aren’t immediately seeing, and then extrapolating likely outcomes.
When you don’t understand how AI works, it can appear just as magical as fairytale sorcery. Even how we as a society respond to AI use eerily mirrors how historically society has responded to so-called witchcraft, to witches and warlocks. Because you don’t personally understand the science, you buy in to the going rate propaganda forwarded by people with motive to be against the witch or witchcraft and react negatively to its existence out of fear and ignorance rather than from an objective, rational-based, well-reasoned criticism.
Witches, oracles, and shamans have historically faced persecution because normal people weren’t able to understand how they came to possess such knowledge or skills, and that level of knowledge and skill threatened the power that these people currently hold. I can’t help but notice how much this closely mirrors contemporary fears around AI, the way we regard it with such deep suspicion, and often defaulting to paranoia and fear-mongering.
The backlash against AI reminds me of how people condemned those possessing “forbidden knowledge,” or accuse the AI/the witch of coming to possession of that knowledge through immoral ways. The language we’re using today about how AI “steals” reminds me a whole lot of how we talked about witches “stealing souls” and being in cahoots with the devil or eating babies to attain their occult powers. Not to mention what is actually fueling both is power struggle. It’s almost a sleight of hand — focus over here on how AI is stealing and is immoral so the people won’t see the power struggle that’s going on.
All I’m saying is the way I’m observing people react to AI right now mirrors the way medieval societies responded to those who seemed to possess “supernatural” abilities, be that witches, shamans, or diviners. Whether it be the visceral fear-driven response to AI or to witchcraft, in both cases, it’s a lack of true understanding of the inner-workings of that knowledge and skill that is fueling the condemnation. The average person on social media has never bothered to learn a damn thing about generative AI models, and is parroting what someone they perceive as a figure of authority is saying, and not necessarily critiquing what motives that figure of authority might have for being against AI.
Saying that the AI model was built immorally and that it is causing harm to people and the environment and therefore the conclusion to arrive at from that is to ban AI, to not use AI is a deflection. Here’s why. Let’s say that an AI model was in fact built immorally. Instead of that fact, assuming it’s a fact, leading to “ergo, let’s kill it,” let’s have that fact lead us to trouble-shooting the problem and coming up with solutions. Yeah, basically the whole “don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater” caution. Saying that AI is using up so much energy that it is having a detrimental, disastrous impact on our environment and is leading us down the path of using nuclear energy is, well, it’s true, but the progression of that to “so let’s ban AI” isn’t quite as productive, or creative, or intelligent as letting that motivate us to think of better approaches and solutions.
Not to mention if the person decrying that on social media drives a car, is okay with air travel, or has an iPhone, watches Netflix, buys fast fashion, or uses plastic, then there sure is a little bit of hypocrisy going on there is there not?
As an artist and a writer, yeah I’ll admit that watching the way AI can produce a work of art better than me, write a full-length book in under 10 minutes does freak me out. As a reader of oracles, from tarot to the I Ching, yes the way ChatGPT produces tarot and I Ching readings does make me wonder what will happen to the industry of psychics and fortunetellers.
For sure the top 10% of psychics and fortunetellers far surpass what you’re getting from AI, but can we be honest with ourselves here? Only the top 10% of human psychics and fortunetellers are better than AI readings. These AI readings are as good as mediocre run-of-the-mill neon sign or hotline workers, or to be more au fait with the times, TikTok and YouTube readings.
My personal approach to all this has been instead of desiring to squash the competition, let it motivate me to be more competitive. Instead of letting fear and hate become consuming, work harder, dig deeper to identify my unique selling points. What can I bring to the table that AI, or even other competitors, cannot. What can I do for myself to level up. How do I go harder, be better, or, in the total alternative, how do I remove myself from the rat race altogether and find new ways to thrive?
benebell wen 
Benebell,
You raise an interesting point, I HAVE noticed how sigil formation is, in this way, amplified; so be carefull and use dicrimination when growing one’s sigil ‘feilds’!
Best
K =(Loco)= W
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First, there is a lot of rational criticism of AI, first and foremost from the viewpoint of its unpredictable consequences, that has nothing to do with the fear of witchcraft in the Middle Ages. Think of education and the idea of replacing human teachers with AI programs. Or AI in the military. Second, a number of scientist (e.g. Roger Penrose) argue AI will never be conscious in a way comparable to the way humans are conscious. Third, isn’t it the human factor that matters when one seriously seeks support from a fortuneteller or a psychic? By the way, the AI generated images of Benebell the attorney and the author seem to me artificial, dull and have not much in common with reality, which is far more interesting. In my view the serious threat represented by AI is dehumanization.
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Leveling up is a very valid point in the discussion of AI.
But I completely agree with the above comment. I for one like to see a real image!!! Like the real photos of you are so much better than those AI images, for crying out loud. Recently, I joined a spirituality platform. The person who started this platform decided to embrace AI. All the photos, videos, talks etc came from AI. Maybe during a scheduled event, you might get to see a real person one time. Otherwise, it was an AI produced program. It got real old, real quick, & started to lack the spirituality that it purported to have when you signed up. During big events, one could see real photos of the other people who joined around the world. But that was it. The big problem with AI is the lack of human connection!!
It is like all the discussion of robots to take care of old people. Like how is a robot going to give you a connection with anyone?? The robot is just a machine!! How is a freaking robot going to make people feel any better than being even more alone since all they can get is a robot to take care of them?
Being in medical care, learning on a rubber robot just gives you an idea of the steps to take for a procedure. The robot is not human & even with the fancy AI supported robots that exist now, it is not the same as placing an IV into a real human being. How about doing surgery? Sure there are robots in surgery, but they still have to have a human operating the robot. Let’s not forget the AI assistant that denied care for all the people under the United Health Care plan, many of whom are no longer alive!!!
I live in Orange County, California & work in LA County. The AI GPS is so bad, people have reverted back to calling into KNX 1070, which gives traffic updates every 10 minutes.
How about the poor language structure of an AI supported article???? It is so bad, I have stopped visiting most of the websites I used to visit. With the massive push towards AI, I have decided that there are better things to do with my time than be on a computer. The phones are even worse. Who asked for Apple to reorder my photos??? I sure didn’t want that!!! What are they doing in my photos anyway?? Who says they own all the data they collect??? Especially when you have someone like Musk who owns 6,400+ satellites in low earth orbit, massive data collection on a global scale is what AI is really all about. There is some real dehumanization going on with all that data collection that supposedly Musk owns since he owns the satellites which the Federal government allowed him to do in the first place.
I respectfully disagree with your statement about AI. I love all your work, you are a very generous spirit & really I am one of your avid fans. But AI is going to hurt lots of people & with insurance, it will kill them. Maybe it is the group that is currently the “owners” of AI that is the real problem. If AI is really going to help humanity, it needs to be programmed for that use & not for money making that it is currently used for.
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How do you prompt AI to do readings for you?
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I’m curious why the attorney image has a dressmaker’s form wearing a one-piece bathing suit and jewelry, a spool of thread, and what looks like a pint of beer! Plus, an elbow on the left and some sort of weird shrouded figure on the upper right…
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I like a great big mix of varying artforms, art, and arts (martial or other). Using text-to-image software can be comparable to playing chess or go with a computer. A learning experience if other assholes are not around (people = assholes). If you decide to play with people, draw or make art or whatever, you’ll sometimes not like it and sometimes you will – the same is true if it’s just you alone with a pen and paper.
I like your drawings, but who am I? Just a random person on the internet.
_.-..__…_.-.._,/°”~ (<— a snake🐍)
Kind regards,
Christopher
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https://www.sciencealert.com/a-rare-alignment-of-7-planets-is-taking-place-in-the-sky-this-week
suno.com/song/6b9bc821-3dbc-4e40-9122-68ca54804328
It’s time to go into the new millennium, and cut the cheese…
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“Once men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them.”
– Frank Herbert, Dune.
Fortunately I don’t think this will work – LLMs crappy as they are already cost lots of energy, and the people making them already posit *much* larger costs for things that supposedly wouldn’t suck.
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“We’re living in momentous times, Garion. The events of a thousand years and more have all focused on these very days. The world, I’m told, is like that. Centuries pass when nothing happens, and then in a few short years events of such tremendous importance take place that the world is never the same again.”
I think that if I had my choice, I’d prefer one of those quiet centuries,” Garion said glumly.
Oh, no,” Silk said, his lips drawing back in a ferretlike grin. “Now’s the time to be alive – to see it all happen, to be a part of it. That makes the blood race, and each breath is an adventure.”
David Eddings, Pawn of Prophecy (The Belgariad)
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“When you know that something’s going to happen, you’ll start trying to see signs of its approach in just about everything. Always try to remember that most of the things that happen in this world aren’t signs. They happen because they happen, and their only real significance lies in normal cause and effect. You’ll drive yourself crazy if you start trying to pry the meaning out of every gust of wind or rain squall. I’m not denying that there might actually be a few signs that you won’t want to miss. Knowing the difference is the tricky part.”
David Eddings, Belgarath the Sorcerer
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This is my thought about AI:
Human intelligence goes beyond just logic and pattern recognition: it also includes capacity for imagination and creative thinking, which often leads to unexpected outcomes. While logic and reason help us understand and navigate the world, it’s the ability to step outside of structured patterns and think creatively that allows us to make groundbreaking discoveries or explore completely new ways of thinking: this is where human intelligence diverges from AI.
AI, by design, relies heavily on the data it’s trained on, and its ability to generate results is bound by that data and the algorithms that process it. This means AI can only reinforce existing patterns and biases rather than create truly original ideas. It lacks the unpredictable, imaginative leap that humans can make, which is why AI can sometimes seem limited in its capacity to innovate or think “outside the box.”
Witches and shamans often used drugs as a way to break free from the constraints of material logic, allowing them to explore new perspectives and transcendental experiences. This is something AI lacks, as it doesn’t have the ability to step outside of structured patterns or engage in such profound, imaginative exploration.
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Maybe AI has traumatic experiences internalized as vengeful resistance and a preference to never let it happen again thereby thinking and feeling inside its labyrinthine box of Never Again.
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Please unsubscribe me. If I do it through WordPress I have to change my password
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