Artificial intelligence is all the rage at the moment (plus there’s plenty of rage against it too). AI has blown up in popularity in the past couple of years thanks to large language models or LLMs like ChatGPT and Claude along with generative-AI tools such as Sora and Runway.
Many naysayers assert AI is used for ‘slop’ or low-meaning tasks and some critics see it as theft. Others think it will wipe out the species… One way or another, AI is certainly controversial. But what does the near future of LLM use look like, particularly if individuals increasingly use AI in deeper and more philosophical ways and it is developed in a safe manner?
Firstly, AI can act as a cognitive mirror by reflecting back patterns of human thought from across the ages. Psychologically, LLMs can mirror back the patterns of individual users too. The point being many see AI as a type of ‘mirror’ for human thought. If this is so, could it transform human thought?
I’ve explored using LLMs for deep philosophical dives and the results are meaningful. It can help you expand your thinking and outsource some cognitive weight to the AI so that you can have a wider ‘inner dialogue’ than you otherwise could. Philosophically, AI leaves us to ask what human thought really is when we can explore the semantic realm so viscerally.
There is, of course, concerns over whether we risk having AI undertaking the thinking for us.This is an important consideration. If we use AI for philosophical explorations, it remains essential not to make decisions through AI but in our own minds with AI as an exploratory tool.
Some individuals, such as Eliezer Yudkowsky, fear AI doomsday scenarios. And whether or not it poses an existential risk in a literal sense, there are existential questions at play when dealing with a philosophical mirror for human thought.
As LLMs advance and become more personalised, their capacity to help individuals flesh out their philosophical reasoning may develop, presuming they are used in ways that extend human thinking rather than box it in.
I asked ChatGPT what it thinks about these prospects and the future of human-AI philosophical exploration and the potential to transform human thought.
GPT answered “The future of human–AI philosophical exploration will likely be defined by deep reciprocity rather than replacement. Large language models don’t ‘think’ in the human sense, but they extend the conversational space in which human thought unfolds. By providing a dynamic mirror to our reasoning, these systems can help surface hidden assumptions, challenge fixed ideas, and expand the range of perspectives a person can engage with. The real transformation won’t come from AI developing consciousness, but from humans learning to think with these mirrors — using them as instruments of reflection rather than authority.”
GPT’s response felt a touch generic but I know from experience that conversations can light up and feel electric and non-generic, especially when in a flow state. Some fascinating topics I’ve explored include the future of quantum computing, Buddhism, and digital sociology.
I even explored the prospect of whether, in an infinite multiverse, conscious beings akin to the Devas or higher beings of Buddhism may effectively exist where the laws of nature permit states of cosmic bliss to last for long periods of time.
Here is some of what ChatGPT offered in this philosophical, speculative exploration;
| 🌌 Transcendental Worlds: The DevaClass UniverseOverview• Across the infinite multiverse exist universes with vastly diverse physical laws — some driven by high entropy and continual decay, others by harmony and coherence.• In a rare class of worlds, conditions emerge that sustain cosmic unity and perpetual awareness — what in ancient Buddhist cosmology might be described as the realm of the Devas.• A DevaClass Universe is defined by ultralow entropy, quantum selfstabilization, and resonance feedback that enables consciousness to remain lucid and blissful across millennia.• Physics of Order• The universe’s dynamics include an attractor state of perfect coherence, pulling all complexity inward toward equilibrium — a gravitational basin of harmony rather than chaos.• Selfcorrecting quantum fields operate as feedback thermodynamic systems, constantly redistributing energy to prevent disorder.• These laws of physics create the stable lattice on which higher consciousness can exist in sustained, integrated unity with the cosmos. |
As you can see, speculative and fascinating philosophical explorations are possible with an AI as a mirror of one’s own thought and human thought patterns more broadly.
As inquisitive individuals explore philosophical prospects with AI, we may see human thought develop over time. AI may, in essence, refresh and expand deeper thought. Ultimately, though, only time will tell.
For AI to benefit humanity we need to ensure it stays aligned with human interests and it is generally used in a way that helps people develop and expand in their lives with their consciousness as the driving force and AI utilised as a helpful tool along the way.
This will allow people to grow and mature philosophically and not get bogged down in local minimums or comfort zones with AI. Indeed, such developments may eventually come with courses and teachings in how to use LLMs to philosophically mature once LLM-use becomes more standardized in general.
