AI Empires and the Soul Sickness of Silicon Valley
Why is Mark Zuckerberg so obsessed with the Roman Empire?Why is Peter Thiel so obsessed with the Antichrist?Why does Sam Altman want $7 trillion dollars for an uncharted course to an unknown destination? And how can be build AI models and an AI company based on principles of kinship and reciprocity? In my ongoing exploration of what's rotten in Silicon Valley tech innovation and the ideologies driving it, last time I talked about the pandemic of what I called the Apollonian Mind Virus, a tendency throughout the modern world to favor cold, disembodied hyperrationality and cognitive intelligence over all other ways of knowing and being, over intuition, emotional intelligence, embodiment, and wisdom. This Apollonian orientation toward nature has ushered in what Sam Altman has dubbed the Intelligence Age. "Apollonian" describes the worldview and theories of intelligence behind current approaches to AI. Today, inspired by Native American thinkers like Jack D. Forbes and Robin Wall Kimmerer, as well as Karen Hao’s work, I explore an adjacent pandemic of the mind or sickness of spirit that is insatiable, extractive, and exploitative: The hungry ghost of the Windigo. I argue that current approaches to AI are largely the result of these two features of the modern, Western ethos—the interwoven helix of the Apollonian Mind and the Windigo soul sickness. I then close this post by beginning to explore whether there is a better way to innovate and evolve, collectively. Substack version here.Support the showJoin Chad's newsletter to learn about all new offerings, courses, trainings, and retreats. Finally, you can support the podcast here.
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AI, Magical Thinking, and the Machine Metaphor with Matt Segall
In this conversation, philosopher Matt Segall and I address the role of philosophy in contemporary culture, emphasizing the need for discernment amidst ideological ferment. We critique transhumanist Silicon Valley ideologies, highlighting their left-hemisphere bias and magical thinking. We also discusses the implications of AI, arguing that while it's a valuable tool, the real danger lies in the extractive, capitalist machine driving its development.More about Matt, including his Substack, his YouTube channel, and his conversation with Michael Levin. God Human Animal Machine by Meghan O’Gieblyn https://amzn.to/3IzujNq Against the Machine, by Paul Kingsnorth https://amzn.to/4ntYp4b ‘Other,’ by R. S. ThomasThe machine appeared In the distance, singing to itself Of money. Its song was the web They were caught in, men and women Together. The villages were as flies To be sucked empty. God secreted A tear. Enough, enough, He commanded, but the machine Looked at him and went on singing.Support the showJoin Chad's newsletter to learn about all new offerings, courses, trainings, and retreats. Finally, you can support the podcast here.
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1:06:47
Apollonian Intelligence: Why Do Tech Bros Have the Worst Ideas?
Peter Thiel is speaking this month in San Francisco about the antichrist. Nicole Shanahan, ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin and former vice-presidential running mate of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., called the annual Burning Man festival "demonic" last week. These are the most recent developments in the rise of techno-Christianity, a reaction in part to transhumanism and Effective Altruism. Peter Thiel has also questioned the viability of democracy, which brings us to the "Dark Enlightenment" of Curtis Yarvin and Nick Land that advocates for anti-democratic CEO-kings. Although it was a fringe idea for many years, it has now gained traction with Silicon Valley billionaires like Balaji Srinivasan, who advocate for the "Exit," seasteading, and "network states." It feels like we live in the strangest times, shaped by powerful people with the worst ideas. Because technology reflects the consciousness of the people creating it, I am deeply concerned about the people creating our technologies, especially artificial intelligence.In my new podcast series, I begin trying to understand the philosophical and psychological underpinnings behind the strange ideologies coming out of Silicon Valley, ideologies very much shaping technology innovation today. Inspired by Nietzsche and Iain McGilchrist, I'm calling the imbalanced thinking behind all of this that emphasizes left hemisphere qualities “Apollonian Intelligence" or the "Apollonian Mind."Peter Thiel on Ross Douthat’s New York Times podcast raving about the antichrist Thiel’s four-part lecture series about the antichrist https://luma.com/antichristNicole Shanahan’s rant about demonic Burning Man New Yorker coverage of Curtis Yarvin’s “Dark Enlightenment” Iain McGilchrist’s wonderful book The Matter with Things Support the showJoin Chad's newsletter to learn about all new offerings, courses, trainings, and retreats. Finally, you can support the podcast here.
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Will Artificial Intelligence Make Us More or Less Wise?
In this episode I explore the complex relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and wisdom, particularly focusing on discernment. I argue that while AI can hinder discernment by perpetuating biases and misinformation, it also holds some potential for cultivating it through tools that aid meditation and self-reflection. I also emphasize the importance of truth and self-awareness in this "age of AI." Ultimately, I argue that discernment is a uniquely human quality that requires ongoing effort and vigilance, whether aided by AI or not. This one was a long-time coming so I hope you get as much out of listening as I did writing it! More on OpenAI's recent decision to remove some of the content guardrails on ChatGPT.This episode was adapted from a guest post on Michael Spencer's AI Supremacy newsletter. Support the showJoin Chad's newsletter to learn about all new offerings, courses, trainings, and retreats. Finally, you can support the podcast here.
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Zombies, Transhumanists, and the Worldview Crisis
Continuing our deep dive into what it means to be human in the age of AI, and inspired by the physicalist yet transcendent worldviews of the transhumanists, in this episode I start to explore the concept of worldviews, focusing first on physicalism / scientific materialism (the idea that matter / energy is fundamental), and how that particular metaphysics or worldview was based entirely on a series of assumptions that were never empirically proven. We contextualize all of it via the postmodern zombie mythology.I focus on the unexplained anomalies from quantum physics as how they undermine the physicalist worldview. I then explore the reasons that physicalism is so intractable as a worldview. All of this is just to set the table for an exploration of #idealism in my next episode (the idea that mind or consciousness is fundamental). Then we can finally turn our attention to transhumanism and human faculties.You can find a YouTube version of this episode here.Sam Altman’s “Intelligence Age” postQuantum measurement explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHDMJqJHCQghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kxmR82QMN8Quantum entanglement explained:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqmIVeheTVUhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuvK-od647cJohn Vervaeke on being rational and spiritualJohn Vervaeke on ZombiesThe famous Einstein - Bergson debate of 1922My video on the hurdles to AGI Support the showJoin Chad's newsletter to learn about all new offerings, courses, trainings, and retreats. Finally, you can support the podcast here.
Welcome to Cosmic Intelligence (formerly Spiritual But Not Ridiculous), a podcast that explores philosophy (Western and Vedic), consciousness, cosmology, spirituality, and technologies in the broadest sense—technologies of the sacred, of transformation, and of the mundane. As we enter this age of artificial intelligence (AI), we focus in particular on AI and its implications for humanity, questions of consciousness, AI safety and alignment, and what it means to be human in the 21st century, as well as its impact on our shared worldview. Since worldviews create worlds we will always keep one eye on our shifting worldview, hoping to encourage it along from materialism to idealism.In terms of consciousness and spirituality, we also explore spiritual practices and other ways to expand consciousness, the importance of feeling our feelings, how to cultivate compassion and empathy, find balance, and lean into fear as a practice. Sometimes we have guests. We approach all subjects from a grounded and discerning perspective.Your host is Chad Jayadev Woodford, a philosopher, cosmologist, master yoga teacher, Vedic astrologer, lawyer, and technologist.
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