A.I. and Spirituality | Should You Reject or Embrace "Artificial" Intelligence?

Just wanted to say thank you everyone so far for sharing your opinions. I have read them all and I am very intrigued to hear your thoughts. I knew this video was a weird subject but glad I am not the only one having thoughts on it! Keep sharing your thoughts :)

We got it all wrong. AI is supposed to take care of labor so humans have time for writing and art. Instead we're letting the robot make art while we labor

From what I’ve read re: AI art (and I agree with you), algorithms/AI is taking real art that has been put into a database and reworking it so basically stealing it without them getting any credit. I’ll never use AI for digital content or thumbnails, Photoshop and free programs like Krita or Adobe Spark work nicely.

As humanity has evolved we become more and more interested in the idea of being against the reality we live in in favor of transcending it and exploiting it for convenience, all things start out looking pleasant and the same applies to technology. Now with a greater emphasis on ingenuity and man made economies, we have begun to lose touch with the arts and storytelling that kept us true to ourselves and this world. the future will be bleak if we don’t realise the flaws in progress. And I’m not talking about social progress. I’m talking about the progress in making our politics/beaurocracy more efficient and placing our intelligence in front of our own spirit.

Greetings Jacob! I really enjoyed this video and I couldn't agree with you more. AI is anything but intelligent. My wife & I watch your videos every week. I commented once on one of your videos last year saying that you were really influential in me becoming a Pagan. You and I exchaned comments about bringing stone circles to America :). Anyway, although we are more into Celtic Paganism, we like that you bring light to all forms and practices and not just Norse. We are currently doing a 20 month online Ogham workshop with Kubi and it has been magical. She is a great teacher/healer. We are really looking forward to your Ireland series coming up. We head back to England ourselves next week! Safe travels Mate!

I definitely enjoy watching the scenery passing by while you drove. It's incredibly beautiful land.

Definitely algorithmic. And speaking as a photographer / journalist ... weaver of stories via images and words, I have yet to ever touch it consciously. When I have considered it, it's devoid of the human energy. Cold and of a different vibration (for me) that is a disconnect. An energy that reminds me of what you feel after hours and hours on a computer vs. time spent within the natural world. It sharpens the disconnect not just between us and the natural world, but also is a REAL disconnect between a person and their imaginations with imagination often being a gateway to the other world.

I really love your videos Jacob. I practice Celtic Paganism and it is so incredibly difficult to find information. I`m based in Brazil right now and here paganism is still taboo, so It`s hard to practice. You were the only person I heard talking about AI the way I see it. Thank you for the information and knowledge you spread.

I agree, it’s definitely algorithmic intelligence, I’ve never believed a computer can work without human input (maybe some scaremongering so that when they want to inflict something bad they can say AI Did it 🤷🏻‍♀️) but as a crafter and spiritual person I have to agree I use my hands for making things and AI for other things like videos etc so it’s a balance things , I think us humans will feel when it’s gone too far, we’re totally underestimated 👌🏻

A.I is soulless thus it's basically cigarettes for your spiritual lungs

AI is only as good as its power source. Nature is fully alive and independent, can't beat that. 😊

It's not a 'weird' topic at all, and we don't mind you driving (instead of being visually stunning), this is a very important topic, and I think it's going to get even more and more important as time goes on. Just because we're Pagans, we're not excluded from the rest of the world, we share this planet with the progress of technology, and pondering how AI and other "sci-fi" stuff will influence humanity (and not just Pagans) is a very important dimension of thought. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and opinions on this topic, please do so more often. (also, you look great, Odinnistic way of life has been very kind to you <3 )

I for one am grateful for our AI overlords and can't wait until they control every facet of our lives, I'm sure they will do no harm to humanity. (Sarcasm)

Thank you for addressing this, you put it in its proper perspective!

I love this channel mostly because you talk about a variety of other pagan paths, especially northern European, especially Celtic, especially Irish (well except Scottish due to your ancestry I guess). The specific issue you brought up here became personal for me recently because although I'm primarily Irish Pagan, I wanted to wanted to get a good intro book on the Norse path for my own knowledge. My default when I can't find it in a store is B&N online (never "the evil empire" one that's so popular!!). I searched their books and ordered NORSE MAGIC AND ASATRU by "Mari Silva" (note the name in my quotes. I told some of my FB friends and they immediately said "Oh it's written by AI, get your money back immediately". It looked "self-published, I tried to google the author, but couldn't find "her". I kept the book and lent it to a friend of mine familiar with AI-written stuff and he said "...yeah sure reads like AI..." I wondered what you and others here thought of this. If it is AI, then I'm keeping it for "archive" purposes as an example of this kind of thing.

Philosophers have explored this distinction you're making between algorithmic intelligence & artificial intelligence in many ways including the Turing test. Which essentially shows that the distinction is meaningless with convincing algorithms. There is no way to tell if the terminator bots are algorithmic. There is no way to tell if other humans are algorithmic. We give them the benefit of the doubt because they are convincing.

Keeping AI as a tool is likely the safest and best course of action. Sensationalizing AI to be your spouse or emotional connection is extreme. Our universe has supplied us with all we need to sustain ourselves and our kind.

In my sixties, I stay away from tic Tok and other BS platforms. YouTube is as far as I go, checking out subjects that catch my interest. I have no interest in Ai and in my opinion, it has no place in my solitary practice. Been doing without it for 35 years. I'm an artist and a musician and Ai bullshit has no influence on my "paganism". My creativity is all mine thank-you very much...good topic Jacob!

I paid for a year’s worth of weekly zoom meetings with a YouTuber and spiritual life coach last year… two months in they ghosted me (haha irony not lost on me) and started sending me advertisements for their new AI service that you could supposedly ask any spiritual questions and use like it was a coach. I shutter to think of the misinformation people could get by trusting AI like that.

Big agree. AI is utter cancer.