Pythia: Prediction of AI-Human Merger as a Best Possible Future

[Editor’s Note: EDRM is proud to publish Ralph Losey’s advocacy and analysis. The opinions and positions are Ralph Losey’s copyrighted work.]

PYTHIA, the women who served as the Prophetess of Delphi for a thousand years, were the most powerful women of the ancient world. They succeeded for so long due to their sage advice and very strong organization of well-educated advisors. Pythia is the inspiration for this two-minute video, which presents a positive vision of the future of AI. The modern-day Pythia depicted here prophesies a world where Man and Machine merge into a new type of hybrid entity; a world where some brave heroes become one with super-intelligent AI. Perhaps these brave men and women of the future will then become like the great Pythias of the ancient world?

I am no Pythia, far from it, but the video predictions should provide some solace to those who fear AI. The work on AI cannot be stopped, as most Cassandras naively hope. Still, the development of AI must be guided. Like many others I see the safest way to do that is to merge with AI, to use AI to enhance natural human abilities. Together, a powerful hybrid force for good may arise, going beyond even the profound affects of the great Pythias. See eg., Shi F, Zhou F, Liu H, et al. Survey and Tutorial on Hybrid Human-Artificial Intelligence (Tsinghua Science and Technology, 2023); Neuralink Corp. (founded in 2016 by Elon Musk to develop implantable brain–computer interfaces).

AI Justice in crystal ball.
See Circuits in Session for more crystal ball predictions based on too much free time study and experiments with GPT4. Image by Ralph Losey and AI

Pythia was the title given to the woman in charge of the Oracle services of the temple for Apollo at Delphi. It was a position of great power in the ancient world, handed down from woman to woman. All were groomed and highly educated for that role. It reminds me of the Dalai Lama position, but the Pythia was always a woman, and never claimed to be a god. They were the voice of enlightenment.

Museum painting of woman with headcovering sprig of tree
Oracle of Delphi painting by John Collier, 1891.

Pythia guided the fate of leaders across Greece and all of the near east. Her slogan was “Know Thyself.” One of the most famous sayings attributed to her is: “Socrates is the wisest man of all and he knows nothing.” She loved being deep and enigmatic like that.

Here is an interesting trivia note: the word “consultants” is derived from the name of the people who came to the Pythia for advice and then went back to share it with others. Another interesting fact, Plutarch (AD 46 – after AD 119) was among the many male priests who served Pythia near the end of her long reign and one of few writers who dared to mention her. Most of the knowledge and predictive techniques of the Pythians were kept confidential. They had very strong NDAs back then, with “penalty of death” type sworn clauses much frowned on today. But even the great Plutarch did not say too much about her. He was, after all, also the local judge of Delphi who later became an ambassador and citizen of Rome. One of Plutarch’s many surviving writings is of interest to me lately, Whether an Old Man Should Engage in Public Affairs (short answer – yes).

Unconfirmed rumors through the ages suggest that many of the Pythias used powerful drugs to enter trance-like states to channel the wise words of Apollo. More recent investigations have shown the presence of ethylene gas at the Apollo temple where Pythia worked. It is known to have mild hallucinogenic, trance-inducing affects, somewhat like ketamine. J. Hale and J. Chanton. The geological origins of the oracle at Delphi, Greece (Geology, 2000); E. Icaza, M.D.; G. Mashour, M.D., Ph.D, Altered States: Psychedelics and Anesthetics (Anesthesiology, 12/13). Also see: Michael Scott, Delphi: A History of the Center of the Ancient World (2014).

AI Image using museum quality painting as a base
Pythia image by Ralph Losey and AI based on Collier’s Painting

No hallucinogenic vapors for me! My inspiration, modest as it is, arises from coffee, study and AI experiments. Of course, if I should merge with AI someday, hopefully without brain surgery, my predictions might then be worthy of an ancient Pythian. No doubt many consultants would then zoom up to my august presence for advice. In the meantime, I’m easily reached by email or you can leave a comment on my e-discoveryteam.com blog.

Ralph Losey Copyright 2023 – All Rights Reserved –. Published on edrm.net  with permission.

Assisted by GAI and LLM Technologies per EDRM GAI and LLM Policy.

Author

  • Ralph Losey headshot

    Ralph Losey is a writer and practicing attorney specializing in providing services in Artificial Intelligence. Ralph also serves as a certified AAA Arbitrator. Finally, he's the CEO of Losey AI, LLC, providing non-legal services, primarily educational services pertaining to AI and creation of custom GPTS. Ralph has long been a leader among the world's tech lawyers. He has presented at hundreds of legal conferences and CLEs around the world and written over two million words on AI, e-discovery, and tech-law subjects, including seven books. Ralph has been involved with computers, software, legal hacking, and the law since 1980. Ralph has the highest peer AV rating as a lawyer and was selected as a Best Lawyer in America in four categories: E-Discovery and Information Management Law, Information Technology Law, Commercial Litigation, and Employment Law - Management. For his full resume and list of publications, see his e-Discovery Team blog. Ralph has been married to Molly Friedman Losey, a mental health counselor in Winter Park, since 1973 and is the proud father of two children.

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