How AI Dream Interpretation Could Reshape Our Reality

Holy mother of Joseph… ChatGPT can interpret dreams. This is both amazing and scary at the same damn time, and I have a lot of thoughts about this. But first, I gotta admit, this interpretation is pretty good. And I must be honest, by many measures, I’m not a dream interpreter or anything closely resembling someone equipped to tell others the meaning or symbolic significance of their dreams. So, how do I even know this is good? Let’s not even debate that because, on a very basic level, I think this interpretation is pretty good. Here are my prompts and here are ChatGPT's responses:

After my initial inquiry, I swapped out the "soulmate" part of the inquiry text because that may or may not be factual. However, the general response was along the same lines, which tells me that this model was trained with a certain dataset allowing it to confidently interpret my dream. I must also note that I did ask it if it could interpret my dream prior to posting the prompt, and its response was an astounding yes. So, I gave it a try, and much to my surprise, it did.

Now, here’s why this is important or significant as far as I’m concerned. If these machines are capable of interpreting “dreams,” and if their basis for interpreting these dreams is based on actual scientific evidence from a variety of scientific fields, then there is no reason why these machines wouldn’t be able to guide us throughout our waking life. They should be able to analyze our scenarios and circumstances and provide guidance, or dare I say intelligence, for us to make informed decisions and take informed actions based on the environmental factors present around us. This scenario is nothing new in the realm of possibilities in the field of artificial intelligence as this is somewhat part of the goal, but what’s incredible about this is the manner in which, I would say, or I would admit, that this is good.

Now, look, there are a lot more implications here, but before I outline one or a few of them, let me walk you through a bit of my thinking and the thinking of others. In the world of technology, here’s what we know: when it comes to developing seemingly impossible technological features, we know that it’s possible to hack some features or hack a couple of features together to achieve our goal without having to actually build what may seem impossible. For instance, many of our most valuable technology companies or technology platforms are actually built upon hacking together a bunch of random tools or APIs available to them, without owning any actual proprietary technology or service. For instance, I could assemble a platform utilizing ChatGPT, Instagram, iOS, Airbnb, Stripe, and a couple of open-sourced tools, brand the platform as a new platform for whatever, and market said platform to the public as this new technological innovation when in reality it’s just a Lego-type platform. Many of the most valuable platforms we use today are assembled in such a manner. I share this to say that when I encounter or discover certain capabilities of these large language models or some other AI tool, what I think about is not just that function demonstrated right then and there, but the possibilities of hacking that function to serve another purpose. So, for instance, once again, if these platforms can “interpret” our dreams, then they can most certainly “interpret” our waking life.

Another area of disruption here is the fields of mental health and social work. Many of the functions of those working in this field can be automated to be a guide to individuals who are in need of said service. Once again, no real innovation here, as many are attempting to build GPT-like chatbots for not only services like customer service, but also to automate therapy sessions and etc through a bot or something. For those of us who have actually had therapy sessions, we know that much of this can be automated, as we typically find that our therapist, or the role of the therapist, is really to be an objective source for insights and knowledge into our inner and outer behaviors so that we may do the work to live the life that we want, etc. As these automated and artificially intelligent platforms continue to be developed, we will find that many of the services provided within the mental health and social work fields can be provided by these systems as well. Yes, there are many ethical considerations to take into account with some of these examples. Yes, there are economic opportunities and implications here as well.

Another thing for us to consider is the validity of the responses of these systems. Much of these functions, will push back on the “shared values” of others, while being openly accepted as truth or factual when indeed these responses should be received through very critical thinking lenses before foolishly taken as serious or applied in our lives. I hate to say it, but there are some people out there who may take serious actions in their life because of information or direction or action provided by these systems, and they are not quite at the point where they are error-proof. For instance, in many instances, and by many measures, what I am describing are the various ways in which these systems can be hacked by hacking their various functions for ulterior purposes which is very much in line with how hackers function with current and older tech tools. If I really put my mind to it, I can leverage a set of features for purposes not intended by their developers. In many ways, this is how human innovation is sparked and comes about by the simple discovery of repurposing something that already exists. There is much for us to think about here.

These types of capabilities also give us new opportunities for social networking or as I like to call it, “Our Social Meta”. For instance, imagine being in a crowded room and having all the intelligence you need to navigate or dare I say "read the room" right in your AirPods. Where the intelligence about the who, what, when, where, why, or how, is fed right into your device unbeknownst to others in the room. Actions such as this have been envisioned by applications with the Meta Ray-Ban glasses and etc., but think about how much more rich and in-depth those features now become with actual intelligence based into these devices. Being able to know people's likes and dislikes beyond just our assumptions presents opportunities for a whole new realm of social networking or, coming from a sales background, as we would often bake into our practices, how to win friends and influence people. Having this level of intelligence at our fingertips was game-changing for the world, having this level of intelligence beyond our fingertips will be even more game-changing and disruptive to our social fabric, our social networks, and the world at large.

I will continue to write more about this as I continue to give it all more thought. In the meantime , stop worrying about who my soulmate is because it’s none of your business.

🍃Even eco-friendly, AI-loving entrepreneurs need a stylish digital home—explore Shopify and Squarespace themes handpicked for you.

Copyright © 2024 Jameel Gordon - All Rights Reserved.