Why is AI magick?
Firstly, let’s distinguish between ‘magic’ and ‘magick’.
According to Google’s AI summary:
The primary difference is that magic is a general term for illusory tricks or a mysterious power, while magick (with a ‘k’) is a specific spelling used in occultism and Paganism to denote a spiritual practice of using focused intention and ritual to effect change, distinguishing it from stage magic. The extra ‘k’ was popularized by the occultist Aleister Crowley in the early 20th century to differentiate his esoteric practices and emphasize their deeper spiritual significance.
AI is not a parlour trick. Stochastic parrot or not, there is no denying that some of the emergent properties of the technology can feel at times miraculous. Tasks that may have taken hours or days can now be accomplished in minutes or seconds, for pennies.
AI is more than magic.
AI is magick: it presents a spiritual challenge as much as an economic or technological one.
How can I trust what AI tells me?
If I let it take over parts of my role and my skills atrophy, how will I intervene effectively when things go wrong?
What is the meaning or purpose of my work if large aspects can now be automated?
What can I do that AI can’t?
And perhaps most importantly for this series: how do we teach wisdom to the next generation when wisdom comes from work and mistakes — and more and more of that work will be done by AI?
These are deep questions. They touch economics and technology, but underneath them lies the oldest inquiry of all: what does it mean to be human?
The good news is, by framing AI as magick, we unlock a rich tapestry of language and metaphor to tackle these questions that have been considered and discussed for thousands of years.
Continued here: