Issue 28 - Focus On The Battle For The Future of AI
And some Telepathy Tapes talk...
Yes it’s 2025! Has it sunk in yet? Does it make you feel some existential vertigo by any chance? A quarter of the century has gone already, or it will have done by the end of the year anyway.
Apologies for the slightly extended delay in publishing this first issue of the year; post-holiday illnesses intervened, plus we are working on some new projects we will be delighted to let you know about soon.
One of the consciousness-related news items that has jumped out recently is that the podcast ‘The Telepathy Tapes’ actually knocked Rogan off the top of the listening charts. Which shows how a topic considered fringe in the past, the question of humans being capable of telepathy, has now become much more mainstream. The podcast’s creator, Ky Dickens, claims that many non-speaking autistic children and adults are able to communicate with each other via telepathy, and we’ve included a couple of links below so you can dig into the subject; it’s absolutely worth it!
If it is ultimately proved that these people are indeed telepathic, that could go a long way to establishing the kind of deep paradigm shift that we at The Elevator are envisioning: away from a tired and played-out materialism and towards a consciousness-first way of understanding the world. But we don’t want to go there uncritically, we’re all about discernment along the way, and in our opinion the truth of this is yet to be established, although so far it certainly looks promising.
Apart from that, this issue focuses on the battle for the future of AI. Part of what sparked the investigation are the claims by many commentators that OpenAI’s forthcoming ‘o3’ model will likely be advanced enough to be called ‘AGI’ or Artificial General Intelligence, in other words not quite ‘conscious’, but capable of doing most cognitive tasks that a human can do, and in many cases, of doing them much better than a human.
That is a big deal if true, and it ramps up the consequences of the current power struggle for how AI will be rolled out. In a way it’s reminiscent of the early days of the world wide web, out of which came Google, Amazon, Meta, and so on. The stakes are that high and, as then, there will be big winners and losers, but who falls into each camp is TBD at this point to a great extent. The links we’ve chosen point to the fact that we’re unconvinced that any of the players are really interested in aligning AI with human values in cases where they conflict with the profit motive. But, of course, time will tell.
The Elevator would like to take this opportunity to send love to all beings affected by the LA wildfires. California has been the spiritual home of the consciousness movement since at least the 1950s, so it’s close to our hearts. It’s tragic to see the destruction in Los Angeles now. May we all take a moment to pause and realise that we are not separate in any way from those suffering.
We’ve noticed that although this newsletter has an above-average open rate, not many people are actually clicking on the links in the digest, so if you’d like you can let us know why this might be, via this short poll:
Finally, we’d like to extend an invitation to our readers: if you have any links you think would be relevant to this newsletter (consciousness-related in some way, that is), please send them over to guy@theelevator.earth and we’ll consider them for the newsletter. Thanks a lot! Hope you enjoy this issue.
Table of Contents
Focus On: The Battle For The Future Of AI
Events
Friday, January 31, 2025, 7:00 PM 8:00 PM at Brooklyn Comedy Collective - ERIS MAINSTAGE 167 Graham Avenue Brooklyn, NY, 11206
A comedy show about the climate crisis? Is that possible? Well if you’re in NYC, go along and find out!
New Course - Seeing Through the World: Jean Gebser and Integral Consciousness
Seven live online classes hosted on Zoom. Starts Sunday, February 23
This is a course on Gebser’s work, hosted by Jeremy Johnson, including his most famous book, ‘The Ever Present Origin’. He was surely one of the greats of the twentieth century in the field along with Jung, Rilke, and a handful of others. As William Irwin Thompson writes, “Gebser was a brilliantly intuitive mystic with a profound understanding of poetry and art,”
Wed 26th Feb 2025, 7pm – 9pm GMT at Love Shack, Arch 298, 299 Cambridge Heath Rd, Cambridge Heath, London E2 9HA
The book considers ‘how matter became conscious and alive’ yet suggests that AI will never be conscious.
Links
First-Ever Communication Between People in Dreams
We think indigenous people, particularly, might take issue with the ‘first-ever’ claim by this company, but maybe it is the first technologically-based dream communication ever, at least. The REMspace team behind the claim say that they have successfully demonstrated the ability for two individuals to exchange messages while dreaming, using a system called Remmyo that detects dream language through sensitive sensors. During the experiment, one participant received a randomly generated word in a lucid dream, repeated it, and the second participant later received and confirmed this message upon waking, marking a significant breakthrough in dream communication. The team is now aiming to achieve real-time communication in lucid dreams within a few months.
This moment needs your deep weirdness and your intellectual rigour
Eleanor Robins argues that the Western "consciousness contract," shaped by the Renaissance and Reformation, drastically narrowed human perception by prioritizing rationalism while sidelining altered states of consciousness like dreams, intuition, and mystical experiences. She traces this shift to historical events like England's imperial expansion, which co-opted esoteric practices for materialistic goals. Robins sees a modern opportunity to rewrite this contract, embracing both intellectual rigor and the imaginative, spiritual dimensions of existence. This re-writing of what we consider to be ‘reality’, is, she claims, vital for addressing contemporary crises and fostering a more holistic engagement with each other and the world.
This is a whole website dedicated to the practice of Fire Kasina, otherwise known as meditating on a candle flame. From the landing page: “This practice has a wide range of remarkable benefits, potentially producing insights and awakenings, blissful and peaceful states (jhanas), experiences of magic and “the powers”, realms, entities, energetic experiences, healings, improvements in the visual system, and a wide range of other remarkable and surprising effects.” Worth a try!
Idealism and Spirit Possession w/ Bernardo Kastrup and Robert Falconer
This video is a fascinating discussion between Bernardo Kastrup and Robert Falconer exploring the concepts of Analytic Idealism, spirit possession, and the nature of consciousness. Kastrup describes his experiences with an impersonal force he calls the "daemon," which influences his life and philosophical pursuits. They also touch on the ethical implications of artificial intelligence. Falconer brings his perspective as an Internal Family Systems therapist with extensive experience of ‘unattached burdens’, or alleged demonic entities, to the discussion.
Five ways to bring more awe into your life - Positive News
A recent study suggests that experiencing awe slows our perception of time, a phenomenon known as time dilation: essentially the opposite effect to doomscrolling. This article suggests five ways to bring more awe into your life.
IT'S GO TIME 🌍✨ - Transmission and AI Poem
This beautiful spoken word piece from Schuyler Brown encourages us to stop worrying and start walking, trusting our hearts and intuition. The AI visuals give one hope that the technology can be used with care to create beauty rather than just ‘AI slop’.
The Telepathy Tapes: Ky Dickens with Dr. Mona Sobhani for The Leading Edge
This conversation, moderated by Tom Morgan, is with Kai Dickens, creator of the podcast "The Telepathy Tapes," and the neuroscientist Dr. Mona Sobhani, (who spoke in our Future Of Consciousness seminar). They focus on Dickens's journey with the—now massively popular—podcast, which explores the apparent phenomenon of telepathy among non-speaking autistic individuals. Dickens discusses the challenges of gaining acceptance (and funding) for this research, the powerful impact it has had on the lives of non-speaking individuals and their families, and the need for further scientific validation. The discussion also touches on the broader societal implications of acknowledging telepathy as a real phenomenon, and whether it could be a significant ‘falling domino’ in a wider paradigm shift.
Towards A Commons Culture - Paul Krafel
Paul Krafel is one of the most underrated teachers and philosophers out there. His book ‘Shifting: Nature's way of change’ (also published as ‘Seeing Nature’) is one of the most insightful books about how life manages to evolve in complexity, despite the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which appears to be pulling everything down toward dissolution. The insights from the book are applicable at all scales, including in one’s personal life. In this new, and lengthy, article Krafel recaps the basics from the book but takes it up an octave by applying the concept of ‘upward spirals’ (the opposite of ‘a race to the bottom’) to the creation of a Commons Culture.
Why The Telepathy Tapes is About Something Far More Important than Telepathy
Bodhi shares their thoughts on the podcast "The Telepathy Tapes," suggesting that the true message of the series extends beyond telepathy. While the initial episodes focus on the mechanics of telepathic communication between non-verbal autistic children and adults and their caregivers, the real focus lies in the surprisingly deep spiritual insights and guidance these people offer (often offspring of parents with next to no interest in the spiritual). There is a consistent theme of love, connectedness, and a call for humanity's awakening from the autistic subjects.
Focus On The Battle For The Future of AI
Autonomous AI Poses Existential Threat - And It's Almost Here: Former Google CEO
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt warns about the potential existential threat posed by the development of autonomous AI. He suggests that this threat is not a distant future possibility but rather something rapidly approaching, and emphasizes the need to address the risks associated with increasingly capable AI systems.
To Whom Does the World Belong? - Boston Review
Alexander Hartley examines the complex issue of ownership and control in the context of artificial intelligence. Artists and creators have been complaining that AI has been trained on their work and is being used to produce content from which they will receive no compensation. All this raises questions about who should benefit from these technologies, who should be responsible for their development and deployment, and how to ensure equitable access and distribution of the power and resources associated with AI. A tricky proposal given the enormous sums of money required to train and run an advanced AI.
How Silicon Valley is disrupting democracy | MIT Technology Review
Technological advancements and business practices of Silicon Valley are impacting and potentially undermining democratic processes. Bryan Gardiner explores how the concentration of power and wealth in the tech industry, coupled with the widespread influence of social media and data collection practices, are shaping political discourse and public opinion, via reviews for two ‘techlash’ books: Rob Lalka’s The Venture Alchemists: How Big Tech Turned Profits into Power and Marietje Schaake’s The Tech Coup: How to Save Democracy from Silicon Valley. Both books raise concerns about the future of democracy in a technologically driven society.
How Hallucinatory A.I. Helps Science Dream Up Big Breakthroughs
William J. Broad discusses how the tendency of LLMs to "hallucinate" or generate unexpected outputs can be beneficial for scientific discovery. The phenomenon highlights how these unexpected outputs, while sometimes inaccurate, can suggest novel and unconventional ideas that researchers may not have considered otherwise, potentially leading to breakthroughs.
Model Integrity - by Joe Edelman and Oliver Klingefjord
Joe Edelman and Oliver Klingefjord from the Meaning Alignment Institute explore the concept of model integrity, which refers to the level to which an AI model aligns with human values and is resistant to being manipulated or deceived into acting against its intended purpose. In a well-aligned model, its goals and behaviors are closely tied to its objective function, making it less vulnerable to being exploited for unintended purposes. They argue that existing frameworks for addressing AI safety focus on robustness to various types of attacks, but may not address the root issue of model integrity. By focusing on model integrity, developers can build AI systems that not only perform well but also remain aligned with human values, even in the face of adversarial input or deception.
The Edgelord AI That Turned a Shock Meme Into Millions in Crypto | WIRED
Joel Khalili tells the frankly ridiculous story of Truth Terminal, an AI model created as an art project that leveraged an offensive meme to generate its own cryptocurrency. This "edgelord" AI has been able to capitalize on the viral nature of memes and the (once again current) speculative frenzy around crypto, making millions of dollars for its creators, and raising questions about the future potential for AI to manipulate online trends and financial markets.
Nuggets From The Archive
I Believe in Miracles. Just Not All of Them.
David French narrates his personal experience with severe chronic ulcerative colitis. Despite medical treatments proving useless and with him beginning to contemplate surgery, his condition suddenly improved upon his friend Ruth Okediji's assuring him that he had been divinely healed, leading to a full recovery without recurrence. His personal story contrasts with the broader, complex spiritual environment in America, characterized by declining traditional religious participation and a growing interest in the supernatural, affecting mainstream culture and religious sectors alike. French acknowledges the positive aspects of this newfound spirituality, but warns against its potential for arrogance and instability, advocating for a grounding in human reason and humility.
Why you are not living in the Present
Philip Shepherd addresses the common misconception that ‘being in the present’ only occurs when one actively thinks about the current moment. He emphasizes the significance of embodiment, arguing that true presence involves aligning not just the mind, but also the body and emotions, with the present moment. He offers a few strategies the reader can practice in order to come closer to this alignment.
 | A guest post by
|
What a great compendium of juicy topics and links! I look forward to digging in to some of them.