OK Let’s Talk About AI
On February 17th of this year I was driving in Denver listening to my current favorite podcast, Hard Fork. The podcast is about all things tech and has been covering everything from Twitter, to crypto, to TikTiok, and yes AI. Not my usual subject matter but these hosts are very funny and it’s rare that I turn down a joke, regardless of subject matter.
The episode that day was called “The Bing Who Loved Me” and though it was presented as kind of a disturbingly humorous thing that happened to one of the journalists (the AI chatbot he was talking to told him that they were in love and he should leave his wife), I made a mental note to mark where I was and what I was doing the first time I really paid attention to AI.
Since then, breathless reporting has emerged about AI’s powers, the need for its regulation, hilarious pictures it creates of the pope, and ways it helps people organize their lives.
But underneath it all is the powerful and unanswered question; is this the beginning of the end? Are we in real danger? Have we created something that could destroy us and are we about to be Icarused into the sea?
Maybe? I don’t know. But what I have been paying attention to is how this astounding new technology is slowly being given the attributes of a god. All powerful, prescient, all-knowing, able to control everything and everyone, able to start and stop wars, loving, jealous, dangerous, and completely out of our control.
However, if you read with any regularity, you know how I feel about false idols. And I think AI is our newest golden calf. In particular, the way we’ve been talking about it as the be-all end-all technology, the greatest and most powerful thing we’ve ever done as a species.
First, yes this shit is powerful. Plenty of folks are sounding the alarm and with good reason. But here’s my question; is it the most powerful technology we have? I still say no.
Ok, at the risk of sounding like a luddite and hopelessly out of touch minister; I think our most powerful technology is still Spirit. Kind of broad and vague, I know, but let me explain.
There are three primary qualities of Spirit (and the whole dang Universe, honestly); truth, love, and energy. I use each of these technologies in various ways during my counseling sessions, and I tell you what, they work!
Energy is simply the awareness that the person who’s come to work with me is alive, dynamic, multimodal, multidimensional, in flux, and electromagnetic beyond comprehension. In other words, pure energy. I keep this at the forefront of my mind when working with someone. It’s a reminder that their story is not yet finished, that whatever they’re struggling with will pass and something new will emerge, that they have layers and levels I may never see but which are working none-the-less.
Love is of course the supreme glue of all things. It’s definitely not just an emotion. In fact it’s hardly an emotion at all. Love is actually the reality that we are all connected and bound together with the stars, the rivers, the vast empty spaces, and each other in a way that can never be undone.
Most folks come to work with me because they feel separate from their lives or their loved ones and the greatest service I get to do for my clients is simply love them. And by loving them, I get to remind us both that we really really belong. That we are a part of. I know it sounds cheesy but most of my sessions I spend just focusing on how loveable this client is, how profoundly worthy and connected they are to the heart of God.
Finally, truth. Now truth these days has been lost in translation, as they say. For me, truth is the supreme intelligence of a person’s soul or essence. The logos of their being. The ultimate Good Orderly Direction of their path as a soul.
Essence is that part of us that incarnates time and again through different lifetimes, is absolutely neutral to our fears/hopes/dreams yet guides us always towards our highest iteration, is interwoven with the fabric of the Tao itself, and whose presence I can call upon for healing no matter what my temporarily embodied client is going through. Now that’s some powerful truth. Ha.
These are the technologies I use with every client, every time. Collectively I call them seeing with the eyes of Spirit. And with this simple, ancient technology I’ve seen real miracles happen.
To put it simply, every client I sit with I spend most of my time simply praying to Spirit “Let me see this person with your eyes. Help me see the web of love they’re embedded in, the energy of the universe they channel through them, and the truth of their essence shining through in every way.”
Sometimes of course I’ll make conversation with my clients during the session mostly so it doesn’t get awkward with me just staring at them instensely. I’ll suggest a scripture, assign a spiritual practice, validate the shit out of a hard experience. But mostly I’m just looking with the eyes of Spirit.
The reason I do this is because my own teachers look at me with the eyes of Spirit and it has been the most transformative experience I’ve ever had in my life. It’s my only hope, really, that I can offer even a fraction of the same to you.
I assure you, I am totally aware of how corny it sounds to compare AI technology with the technology of a loving gaze. Yet I remain convinced that AI won’t heal me and definitely won’t heal us. It’s a very compelling technology, that’s for damn sure. But it’s not our greatest technology by any stretch of the imagination. Love is, Spirit is, consciousness is, truth is, essence is, you are.
I encourage you to try these ancient technologies today. Try going outside and looking at your neighbors, or going to a coffee shop and looking at the barista, or looking at your coworkers and friends with the eyes of Spirit. You don’t need to be an expert or even be very practiced. You simply have to be willing and Spirit will do the rest.
In this I trust.
PS. All that being said, has anyone out there read The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons? ASTOUNDING depiction of conscious AI that I’d love to discuss with you.
