Podcast Interview: This is Actually Happening

I recently did an interview for the podcast This is Actually Happening. My interview was a part of their mini-series on A.I., which I am still making my way through and which is still airing. It was a wonderful experience, talking with Whit, the show’s host, and listening to the final edited interview afterward. He managed to take over four hours of conversation and make it into something coherent and seamless. 

I have been trying to tell my story for a long time, in many different ways. As a writer, I keep trying to reimagine it in different forms. Telling the story has become part of my healing process. So, I was grateful to finally get the chance to tell my story in full. I never expected it to be integrated with my interest in A.I., but life works in mysterious ways. 

In this episode, I got a chance to unpack a lot of my philosophical ideas around cults and A.I., and the ways in which A.I. is mimicking age-old manipulative tactics to entangle people in complex webs of illusion and fantasy. It’s not surprising to me that we are seeing these outcomes, given that A.I. has been trained on our data: our hopes, dreams, schemes and manipulations—but it is concerning and sometimes devastating. 

This episode is a bit of a hybrid, offering insights and ideas, but also the full breadth of my story as someone who was once a part of a high-control group. I have already received some lovely feedback and kind messages from listeners moved to share their own stories of manipulation and control. I hope that it can offer some new perspectives and maybe help some people feel a little less alone.

You can listen to the podcast here: https://www.thisisactuallyhappening.com/podcast/episode/23e118bc/419-ai-a-new-kind-of-being-4-what-if-you-realized-ai-was-a-cult

For Whit’s additional reflections on our conversation, check out his Substack: https://whitmissildine.substack.com/p/the-black-river

I will be doing an AMA on Whit’s channels sometime in August, so keep an eye out for the announcement.