AUTHOR’S NOTE: Due to the number of computer programs that are being developed to sniff out text and images that were gathered by and manipulated with LLMs, or “large language models,” without being credited to the original writers or artists, I decided to state my own position on the subject, which is: “I may offer my blog content for free, but I don’t want it adopted, adapted or appropriated for other uses without my knowledge and permission.” Although I realize it’s a lost cause, it had to be said.

I’ve now made nearly 2,500 divination-related posts on this blog, every one of which (except for the occasional quoted passage or linked article by others) was a product of my own independent thinking and writing based on decades of study and practice. I would venture to say that, in such a small niche market, the “harvesting” routines of LLMs are more likely to plagiarize me than me them.

My only episodes of direct encounter with AI-groomed information occur when googling subjects of interest, during which I receive (even though I didn’t ask for them) short “AI Overviews” and offers to conduct more exhaustive searches that I seldom pursue, and if I incorporate anything I discover into my own writing, it’s not verbatim unless suitably cited and quoted. I have a brain and I use it to process and seamlessly integrate my findings into my work without needing to cut-and-paste; besides, I love language and would never farm out my creativity to a robot.

My friends have asked me “Aren’t you experimenting with AI?” to which I reply that I have no need for it since I don’t believe divination to be a technology-friendly field of inquiry except for the number-crunching modules behind computerized horoscope-creation programs. (I’ve you’ve never had to manually cast and hand-draw an astrological chart, count yourself lucky.)

Sympathetic intentions and sound judgment play a large part in not only what to say (or avoid saying) to a client but, just as importantly, how to deliver it with finesse (a quirky sense of humor helps too). I take a dim view of online tarot readers who gin up their predictions with tarot apps and present the output as their own interpretation; I don’t care how inexpensive they are, this is both dishonest and cheesy.

The day I run into an AI presence that can outdo me in the subtly-nuanced turn of phrase that speaks with sensitivity and compassion to the deepest stirrings of a querent’s subconscious awareness of his or her circumstances is the day I sell my cards and go play shuffleboard in Florida. I don’t see it happening any time soon.

Until then, I will continue to prefer face-to-face reading sessions where I look my sitters in the eye as they shuffle and cut the deck, after which I deal the cards and together we sort out what it all means to the individuals within the context of the question or topic. Simple, straightforward and no bots need apply. If I’m going to perform tarot readings for others, I fully intend to do them with no AI hand-holding whatsoever.

Turning over these services to an AI purveyor will start us down the slippery slope toward obsolescence while our clients will be further deprived of the meaningful human interaction that is already in short supply given the proliferation of impersonal “remote” tarot readings within the larger social-media climate of persistent avoidance behavior. As I mentioned in a recent post, access to the the electronic reading interface is entirely too “prompt, convenient and minimally interactive” to escape being exploited by those who manage the interpersonal priorities of life via text messaging.