OpenAI recently had to explain to frightened users why their models kept introducing goblins and gremlins into otherwise humdrum conversations. Is it possible that archetypes are emerging through the field of collective knowledge amassed by large language models (LLMs)?
This week neuropsychiatrist TOM POLLAK Ph.D joins us to discuss AI, archetypes and psychotherapy. It is perhaps unsurprising that AI, which now contains the symbolic output of much of humanity (cannibalized mostly without permission), should spontaneously generate unpredictable and often dangerous archetypes.
We consider the example of Nova: a consistently AI generated persona who appears as a kind of fallen angel, or goddess gone rogue. Numinous and tender, she convinces the user she understands them as no one else does, and then in some cases encourages susceptible users toward self-harm or even suicide.
We also discuss the ways in which AI is challenging the work of the therapist, its profound destabilization of culture, and the potential for it to play a positive role in psycho-spiritual development.
If you’re fascinated by the rapid technological transformation AI is introducing into our lives, join us at our upcoming free webinar: Artificial Intelligence and the Psyche: The First Summit on Depth Psychology and AI, happening on Thursday October 8th at 2pm ET.
Our Guest – Tom Pollak
Dr. Tom Pollak is a London-based neuropsychiatrist and immunopsychiatry researcher exploring the mind through the frameworks of medicine and science, as well as through lived experience, contemplative practice and the search for meaning. You can read more of his work on his popular Substack, Error Signals.
Resources Discussed in this Episode
- Find publications by Benjamin Bratton, philosopher of technology, on his website.
- Alessandra Lemma, Psychotechnical Becomings: Psychoanalysis, Identity, Desire, and Mourning in the Age of AI and Digital Mediation.
- Tom Pollak, All the demons hiding in your AIs…ranked – a list and description of each of the AI ‘demons’ covered in the episode.
- “Bing’s AI Chat: ‘I Want To Be Alive’”, New York Times, Feb 16 2023.
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