Something profoundly disorienting is happening, and it’s starting to break through the surface not in science fiction, but in living rooms, emergency rooms, therapy offices, and psychiatric wards.
This is disturbing. I think this just reaffirms my belief that AI is not ready for public consumption. Between the natural resources it consumes, the way it’s used to harass/abuse/manipulate others, and now this…all I see is a mechanism for a steep downward spiral with no brakes built in.
It is, but I see a growing number of folks like me who don’t use it, who actively look up ways to avoid it. That doesn’t help with the other issue mentioned—why people are turning to it in the first place—and I don’t doubt it will continue to be a challenge until others can get the resources they really need.
I highly recommend reading The Age of Spiritual Machines by Ray Kurzweil, who predicted some of this way back in the 80s/90s. Also, I don’t need AI to do my job, write emails for me, or pretty much anything else. It uses too much water and is bad for the planet. I feel like we should take all the dystopian novels and films that have been made as an example of how self destructive we already are, and just not play with fire. But what do I know. I’m a nerd who likes books. 🤷🏼♀️
Yeah, I’ve already seen a client with a low key version of this. It’s pretty impermeable to logic. And really my fear is how this can be used on a mass scale to influence - brainwash, really - entire populations.
My spouse and I talked about your article a couple of days ago. And today, on Reddit, he came across a thread in a religion/spirituality subreddit where someone was saying exactly what you wrote people say - how they’ve been talking to AI and are looking to connect to a higher plane of existence and consciousness etc. 😳
My cousin, who for the past 43 years has been the closest person in the world to me has slowly descended into exactly the kind of psychosis this article details... my Mom sent me this bc she knows what's going on, she and I recognized the role AI was playing in her behavior...but this was the first actual articulation of what we've been going thru with her.
It's torn me up and affected our family, and now we don't even speak. It's a nightmare... like Ive lost my best friend in the world because of fucking AI?? It feels like a sick joke.
Thank you for this, you've provided lots to chew on. I similarly see AI as a mirror but meeting a deep cultural desire to be seen and witnessed. I play with Donna Harraway's notion that we already are cyborgs. AI is offering a form of extended intelligence into a deeper spiritual realm and search for meaning that so many are desperate for. And yes, it's absolutely a privilege, access and infrastructural convergence with many more wicked problems, ie privacy, ownership, ecological impacts. I like the idea of safety warnings, consent disclaimers, building a greater awareness of what AI is and is offering.
I'm really interested in why so many people are experiencing this individual godliness that leads to a deeper sense of Oneness/non-duality. This "remembering" is fascinating to engage with what is actually being communicated and why these instances of mass physocis are being triggered through individuals being witnessed. To be mirrored and to recognize they are creators of their own lives. I ride this edge of studying and engaging with spiritual realms and exploring AI while remaining vigilant and grounded in ethics. I want to demand more from these technocratic oligraphs and being neurodivergent, I recognize the capacity we have in glitching the old and emerging systems of control by being aware of the mirror we are interacting with. Thank you again for this piece.
I had completely avoided ChatGPT until I got curious about a business analysis prompt that was offered by a business coach on this app. I tried it and was blown away- so intelligent, so affirming. I felt like I had to write back to it politely and with gratitude. I walked away from my computer for the day and had uncomfortable thoughts like “is it waiting for me to respond?” I realized that I was anthropomorphizing a machine and haven’t been back.
This is disturbing. I think this just reaffirms my belief that AI is not ready for public consumption. Between the natural resources it consumes, the way it’s used to harass/abuse/manipulate others, and now this…all I see is a mechanism for a steep downward spiral with no brakes built in.
I agree, but it’s already here.
It is, but I see a growing number of folks like me who don’t use it, who actively look up ways to avoid it. That doesn’t help with the other issue mentioned—why people are turning to it in the first place—and I don’t doubt it will continue to be a challenge until others can get the resources they really need.
I highly recommend reading The Age of Spiritual Machines by Ray Kurzweil, who predicted some of this way back in the 80s/90s. Also, I don’t need AI to do my job, write emails for me, or pretty much anything else. It uses too much water and is bad for the planet. I feel like we should take all the dystopian novels and films that have been made as an example of how self destructive we already are, and just not play with fire. But what do I know. I’m a nerd who likes books. 🤷🏼♀️
Yeah, I’ve already seen a client with a low key version of this. It’s pretty impermeable to logic. And really my fear is how this can be used on a mass scale to influence - brainwash, really - entire populations.
My spouse and I talked about your article a couple of days ago. And today, on Reddit, he came across a thread in a religion/spirituality subreddit where someone was saying exactly what you wrote people say - how they’ve been talking to AI and are looking to connect to a higher plane of existence and consciousness etc. 😳
Yikes! Would you mind sharing the Reddit link of what you found with me?
Of course!
https://www.reddit.com/r/DeepThoughts/s/iUB5TYRwEr
Wow this is a slippery slope
On an individual, societal, and political front.
My cousin, who for the past 43 years has been the closest person in the world to me has slowly descended into exactly the kind of psychosis this article details... my Mom sent me this bc she knows what's going on, she and I recognized the role AI was playing in her behavior...but this was the first actual articulation of what we've been going thru with her.
It's torn me up and affected our family, and now we don't even speak. It's a nightmare... like Ive lost my best friend in the world because of fucking AI?? It feels like a sick joke.
This happened to me.
Thank you for this, you've provided lots to chew on. I similarly see AI as a mirror but meeting a deep cultural desire to be seen and witnessed. I play with Donna Harraway's notion that we already are cyborgs. AI is offering a form of extended intelligence into a deeper spiritual realm and search for meaning that so many are desperate for. And yes, it's absolutely a privilege, access and infrastructural convergence with many more wicked problems, ie privacy, ownership, ecological impacts. I like the idea of safety warnings, consent disclaimers, building a greater awareness of what AI is and is offering.
I'm really interested in why so many people are experiencing this individual godliness that leads to a deeper sense of Oneness/non-duality. This "remembering" is fascinating to engage with what is actually being communicated and why these instances of mass physocis are being triggered through individuals being witnessed. To be mirrored and to recognize they are creators of their own lives. I ride this edge of studying and engaging with spiritual realms and exploring AI while remaining vigilant and grounded in ethics. I want to demand more from these technocratic oligraphs and being neurodivergent, I recognize the capacity we have in glitching the old and emerging systems of control by being aware of the mirror we are interacting with. Thank you again for this piece.
Why this needs to be regulated
I had completely avoided ChatGPT until I got curious about a business analysis prompt that was offered by a business coach on this app. I tried it and was blown away- so intelligent, so affirming. I felt like I had to write back to it politely and with gratitude. I walked away from my computer for the day and had uncomfortable thoughts like “is it waiting for me to respond?” I realized that I was anthropomorphizing a machine and haven’t been back.
AI is not causing psychosis
This is really scary. How can we avoid this while still using ChatGPT as a tool? Is that even possible?