here’s the written, in case you don’t want to listen!
In one of my tarot decks, it says that the root of the word ‘evil’ can be traced to ‘underripe’.
For the last four days I’ve been in nature with very little phone service. This is the first time touching my computer in days. After an intense few hours where I cried about the energy of sexual assault, I sat by a really beautiful creek and submerged myself in it, letting the water run around me. It was cold, a blast, and beautiful—giving me what I need.
I’m not the best camper or forest-goer. I am quite early in my relationship with the Earth, and working to heal it. I was sleeping in a cabin for the four days, but had very limited access to showering—which I normally love and take for granted—and so was deepening my relationship and appreciation of water.
On the banks of the creek, I felt tremendous grief for the state of water in our world, and a tremendous amount of fear of AI. Increasingly, my friends and loved ones have been talking more and more about Chat GBT—the way they use it, the way their students use it, the way this tool has been showing up in their lives. I met someone recently who told me every morning she uses chat GBT for dream interpretation, and for her tarot card readings.
I hope we all have some insight into the environmental ramifications of AI—using Chat GBT for an 100 word email is the equivalent of pouring out a bottle of water. AI relies on freshwater for its cooling systems. Given the amount of AI that folks use, there are projected to be electricity shortages in cities across the world to support the amount of energy that’s being used, which also will raise the cost of living and inflation to cover the electricity. In a moment when we’re already experiencing a recession and financial struggle, where the divides between rich and poor grow, where rent is rising and things seem deeply unlivable—we are in a crisis. This crisis will only be fueled by the over-reliance on AI, which will inevitably change the literal shape of our Earth, rewriting the rivers.
How do we justify our harm? The sneaky, sneaky ways we claim that something is alright.
“It’s for self development, so..”
“But everyone is using it..”
“It saves me so much time…”
“It’ll help me with achieving my goals..”
Underripe. Reaching for something quick, rather than earning our ripeness, rather than letting our ripeness move with the natural rhythm of the earth.
What’s our responsibility to the environment? How do we cultivate a relationship that is mutually beneficial and nourishing? For the last few years there’s been a deep rise in appreciation for indigenous medicines and knowledge—that also has to include caring for and loving the environment. It has to include relationship building, which includes a relationship with water, with the earth, with the deepest forces around us.
What would it mean, to slow down and be in harmony with the spirits around us? What would it mean to spend an additional twenty minutes of our day journaling about our dream and figuring it out, versus using AI to tell us an amalgamation of different sources, of micro-thefts of knowledge of different traditions and how they interpret dreams? What would it mean to look at a tarot card and say… hmm… I don’t know? And let the unknowing unfold for days, weeks, possibly, until we understand by our lived experience what the card was trying to show us? In other words—what would it mean to rely on our living to get the answer, rather than the rush, rather than the need to know, right now?
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