Navigating the Landscape of Artificial Intelligence
Tuesday was the primary in New Hampshire. Apparently, New Hampshire voters have been receiving robocalls in the voice of Joe Biden telling them not to vote! There is no way to know who is actually behind that, but the scary thing about it is that such a thing can be done by virtually anyone with access to AI and a list of phone numbers. Love it or hate it, AI is here and I think it’s important to learn about this tool and how to wield it.
This weekend I attended STAARCON (the fourth annual tarot and divination event here in South Florida) where I was fortunate enough to be a presenter as well as a participant in a huge assortment of workshops designed for the modern tarot reader and others who use systems of divination. One that really captured my attention was Stephanie Cecchini’s “The Modern Fool: How Artificial Intelligence is Paving the Way for a New Era of Spiritual Awakening”. It was eye-opening; it offered a lot of advice about how this new tool can be harnessed to help us grow our business. One message that I received in particular is that now is a good time to get on board. You can either be someone who benefits from AI tech or someone who misses out.
Aside from all of the inflammatory and biased misinformation surrounding it, AI is capable of really making work easier. We live in an environment that is increasingly information-centric and no matter what work you do, the ability to have an electronic ‘helper’ that can grind out some of the drudge work is likely to be an enormous boon. I realized, for example, that by opening up to the data mining of ChatGPT, I can cut back on hours of digging through the internet by asking a question as simple as “What 10 blog topics are hot right now?” In fact, I just did that and in a matter of seconds there were 10 great ideas. It’s like having a super-smart work partner!
Back to the ‘scary’ aspect of using AI. There are real and valid ethical implications and concerns about the potential misuse of AI. It’s so convincing and so real, it’s tough to know what information we can trust. Whatever one’s political affiliation may be, we worry that the other side might use the algorithms to warp everyone’s sense of reality. There’s a fear of cultural and economic disruption, loss of jobs, and loss of control. It’s fear, plain and simple.
I’m thinking back to an episode of Downton Abby where the ever proper and dignified butler, Carson, was confronted with the installation of a telephone. In front of his staff he’s all bustle about being able to operate it, but as soon as they leave, he tries to ‘practice’ answering the phone because he’s not sure. Carson would be beyond amazed to see where we are today, but the truth of the matter is that a modern butler could likely not even begin to run a large household without a smart phone!
Pluto entered into the sign of Aquarius last Saturday, January 20, where it will stay (with a brief final retrograde into Capricorn later this year) for 20 years. Pluto is all about transformation and regeneration. Aquarius is innovative and forward thinking. I don’t think we have a choice. Those of us who work in the field of divination spend our time and energy trying to see at least some aspects of the future. I think it’s our job to embrace it as well.
