What Psychedelic States of Consciousness Tell Us about AI

Cosmic Intelligence

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The irony of the application of the word “hallucination” to LLMs making mistakes is that they are completely incapable of having psychedelic experiences. Why does that matter?
In this mind-bending exploration, we dive into the fascinating intersection of artificial intelligence and expanded states of consciousness. We examine how imagination, creativity, and innovation seem to arise more frequently in altered or "holotropic" states of consciousness - such as through meditation, breathwork, dreams, dancing, psychedelics, or other experiences.
I argue that current approaches to AI may never be truly inventive or creative, as they lack the ability to model the abductive reasoning and intuitive leaps that often occur in these holotropic states. To support this thesis, we explore historical examples of scientific and philosophical breakthroughs that emerged from dreams, visions, and other non-ordinary states of consciousness.
In short, I am challenging the narrative that AI will soon surpass human intelligence, suggesting there may be profound mysteries of the human mind that AI cannot replicate, and offering a more sober and realistic view of the limitations facing AI research in attempting to model the wonders of human cognition and consciousness.
This video is part of a series about the myths, hype, and ideologies surrounding AI.
YouTube version
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Stan Grof's collected works
My previous video on the impediments to AGI
Paper using LLMs to model abductive reasoning
Willis Harman's Higher Creativity
Effects of conscious connected breathing on cortical brain activity, mood and state of consciousness in healthy adults

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Chapter

1. Intro (00:00:00)

2. Overview (00:02:58)

3. Types of Reasoning (00:05:26)

4. Technoscience + Holotropic States (00:08:50)

5. Holotropic States of Consciousness (00:10:04)

6. Examples of Creative Inspiration (00:13:24)

7. Insect-Like Intelligence (00:15:58)

8. Carl Jung's Active Imagination (00:16:43)

9. Visionary Artists (00:19:38)

10. Brain Wave States (00:20:05)

11. How To Enter a Holotropic State (00:22:50)

12. Francis Crick & LSD (00:23:33)

13. Robin Carhart-Harris & Default Mode Network (00:25:36)

14. Humans Aren’t Going Anywhere (00:26:49)