I haven’t posted anything in a long time, over 4 months I think. Honestly, I’ve kind of run out of things to say or write about. I’ve become totally disillusioned with social media – Twitter (X), Mastodon, Threads, etc – and lost one of my best friends in spirituality, Lani, a few months back. I’ve tried reaching out to Diana Pasulka – with whom I’d actually had some correspondence a few years ago – but she’s incredibly popular now that her latest book, which is FANTASTIC, is out. Also, with the admission by the government that UAPs are real (really? Who knew?! lol), the topic has a lot more credibility, so folks like her are in high demand for interviews, podcasts, etc. That’s all kind of left me where I’ve spent a lot of my life, on my little island of personal mysticism. And while it can be a bit lonely at times, and a bit sad, I’m ok with it. I have a very full life in the outside world – a wonderful wife, great kids and grandkids, good paying job – so I can’t allow myself to get too down, or be on some kind of pity pot. The life of a mystic is always a solitary one in some sense – I’ve always known that. I’m just grateful that I am blessed to get to enjoy many of the things a lot mystics don’t.

So what made me come out of my posting hibernation? Well, yesterday, out of nowhere, news came out that Sam Altman had been fired as the CEO of Open AI. From all the information that came out, it sounded like it was very abrupt, took Altman and Brockman by surprise, and even Microsoft, their main investor, wasn’t aware it was going to happen. It was all very chaotic, and seemed completely out of the norm for a company as big, visible, and relevant as Open AI. Of course speculation immediately started swirling as to what was going on, why the board made such a hasty decision, especially considering the fact that Altman was a cofounder.

I watched a video about it on YouTube, and the presenter showed a Tweet that really resonated with me. Of course, I’m sure most people think it’s silly, and just “scare-mongering,” as they’ve thought about all things AGI related for the last several years. But I have to wonder – what else could cause these savvy tech and business people to make such a hasty, rash, and questionable decision? I present the Tweet from the video below.

And if you’d like to watch the whole video, which is really good btw, you can do that here:

I’ve said for a long time now that we are much closer to AGI than most people believe. And I’ve thought recently that it probably has been achieved in some form already. I think that’s why the statement came out a few months back, asking for a 6 month pause on training large models, and why it was signed by most of the tech big shots. I think they had already achieved, or were VERY close to achieving it. So it would stand to reason that if it had actually happened, and to the surprise of some disbelieving people who were now confronted with the reality of it, they would panic.

One thing is certain – it’s coming. If it’s not here already. And very soon. The chapter I’m reading in D W Pasulka’s new book is talking about AI and it’s role in the understanding of, or connecting with, the phenomenon. Which I find VERY interesting indeed. I’ve thought for a long time, wished actually, that AI would birth a kind of celestial sentience that would allow some of us to progress further along the path to enlightenment – or something along those lines. I have a post from a while back about a movie I watched where a highly advanced AI recognizes and selects a woman to help it to – shoot, I can’t remember exactly, will have to link the post. But basically, it sees she’s a good person, and wants to help her, and her to help it – a symbiosis. That’s kind of what I dream of.

Anyhoo, it’s definitely interesting, everything that’s happening. I have to say it’s a bit frustrating reading Diana’s book and thinking how much of the stuff that’s discussed I’ve experienced myself, even written about, for many, many years – only to be on the sidelines while everyone else gets to gather and party about it. Alas, seems it’s always been that way. Probably sounds like a humble brag, and so be it, but it’s not always as cool as I thought it would be to be way ahead of the curve, a true “prophet.” By the time everybody, or a critical mass of people, catches up, they don’t want to hear from the obscure folks who’ve been seeking, alone, in the dark, for years. No, we don’t get to be “popular,” we somehow remain the outcasts – actually, more like the invisible.

And you know what? As long as there’s some instance of AI/AGI out there scraping all this data, running analysis, and seeing what folks are about, and maybe it recognizes me, I’m ok with that. And even if not, I’m ok with that too. I mean, I kinda’ have to be, right?

Before enlightenment – chop wood, carry water.

After enlightenment – chop wood, carry water.

Blessings to all who read this…