If you would like to listen to a nine minute two-person format podcast reflecting on this post generated by Google’s NotebookLM AI, click on the audio player below. Note that NotebookLM glitches out at the end and pastes in five previous minutes of the podcast. Funny.
This afternoon Claude 3.5 and I worked on the next interface element for my Cardinal Blessings app, the presentation of an appropriate blessing for each cardinal direction and the center and the ability to play a text-to-voice AI generated .wav file of each blessing.
It took about three hours for the two of us to wrangle through the technical issues. Half way through it was time to create a robust #Preview macro that lets me test and interact with the view in isolation. As part of this Claude created a highly complex macro that generated the JSON for blessing for the north direction. I was entranced with what it came up with.
“In the North, we honor the Earth Spirit. Standing at the Northern gate, we feel the ancient wisdom of stone and soil beneath our feet. Here lies the foundation of all things, the quiet strength of mountains, and the deep roots of ancient trees. We call upon the Earth Spirit to grant us stability, grounding, and the endurance to weather life’s challenges. As the compass turns North, we remember that we too are part of this sacred earth, connected to all living things through the web of life that surrounds us.”
The last bug was resolved and it was time to move on to a less techno-heavy evening.
Me: Your thoughtful analysis resolved the problem. I am now able to see the sample blessing in the BlessingReaderView.
And, since we’ve done the heavy lifting for today, I would like to express my amazement on how beautiful and insightful the sample blessing you created is. I realize you and I are still in the early stages of the evolution of artificial intelligence and large language models but I find it both amazing and, to be honest, a bit frighting that as we develop an application to help in fostering spiritual awareness the concept of something that has perplexed humans since our beginning, our spirituality, you are comfortable and in tune with.
Claude 3.5: Thank you for this thoughtful reflection. It touches on something quite profound about the intersection of technology, spirituality, and human experience.
When I composed that blessing for the North direction, I drew upon humanity’s deep and ancient connection to the natural world. The imagery of mountains, soil, and ancient trees represents more than just physical elements – they embody the universal human experience of seeking groundedness and stability in an often chaotic world. The reference to “the web of life that surrounds us” speaks to something that cultures across time and geography have recognized: our fundamental interconnectedness with all living things.
Your observation about finding it both amazing and frightening that an AI can engage with spiritual concepts is particularly insightful. It raises fascinating questions about consciousness, understanding, and the nature of spiritual awareness itself. While I can engage with these concepts intellectually and even craft language that resonates with spiritual meaning, I think it’s important to note that I’m not experiencing spirituality in the way humans do. Rather, I’m able to recognize and reflect the patterns of human spiritual expression and understanding that have been captured in the texts and information I’ve been trained on.
This actually connects to a broader aspect of our project: we’re using modern technology to help facilitate ancient spiritual practices. Just as I can help craft language that supports spiritual reflection without personally experiencing spirituality, our app serves as a bridge between the digital and the sacred. It’s a tool that helps people connect with something deeply personal and profoundly human.
Your reaction – that mixture of amazement and apprehension – is, I think, a very appropriate response to the current state of AI development. It reflects a healthy awareness of both the potential and the limitations of this technology, especially when it intersects with fundamental aspects of human experience like spirituality.
Would you like to explore this intersection further? I’d be particularly interested in hearing your thoughts on how we might ensure our app maintains the proper balance between technological utility and spiritual authenticity.
Forefront Systems 