Craig Chalquist

Title: A Dose of MythAIology In the AI craze we see the reactivation of an ancient piece of folklore: specifically, the return of the Golem, the alchemical Homunculus, and other autonomous beings warned about by the world’s folklore. As Joseph Campbell, Carl Jung, and other deep thinkers have pointed out, remaining unconscious of the old stories guarantees that their motifs will return symptomatically and traumatically. As the poet Novalis put it, “Where there are no gods, phantoms reign.” What do the old stories tell us about the nature of AI and what we can expect from it? How do we learn these stories and reflect on their wisdom instead of acting them out over and over again? What needed knowledge - from the humanities, not from science or technology - do the artisans of innovative technology need in order to perform their alchemy safely?

Craig Chalquist, PhD, PhD is program director of Consciousness, Psychology, and Transformation at National University. A former associate provost and several other administrative and leadership roles, his background includes public presentations, group counseling, depth psychology, dream studies, mythology, ecopsychology, terrapsychology, and philosophy and wisdom studies. His first PhD is in Depth Psychology, and his second in Philosophy and Religion. He presents, publishes, and teaches at the intersection of psyche, story, nature, reenchantment, and imagination. He has published more than twenty books, including Terrapsychological Inquiry, Myths Among Us, and the hopeful Lamplighter Trilogy. He runs Lampcove, an online community for practical visionaries. His motto is: “Converse with everything!” Visit Chalquist.com.