The concept of a brain can be seen as a detailed abstraction: a materialistic, reductive cultural construct. In contrast, the mind encompasses not only this abstraction but also integrates subjective experiences, emotions, sensory perceptions and consciousness. The AI models we are developing may not be akin to ‘minds’ in this sense. Instead, AI... See more

Until the modern era, the aim of education, culture and the arts in the West was to inculcate, develop and express the highest versions of what we consider good, true and beautiful.

The dynamic narrative of language can be viewed as a form of abstracted action, primarily (but not exclusively) processed in the left hemisphere. Language reduces complex thoughts into a series of spoken words or written symbols, compressing experiences and their abstracted concepts into communicable packets. However, this compression often leads... See more

[W]e have to be constantly vigilant to undermine language’s attempt to undermine our understanding.” Iain McGilchrist, The Master and His Emissary, p.150

An intriguing question arises: Will the new human generations, ‘AI natives,’ use these intelligences to reinforce our tendency towards a reductive, left- hemisphere-dominated perspective? Or, alternatively, will these AIs be able to capture and convey the implicit meanings hidden within our vast textual corpus, possibly becoming a conduit for... See more

The right hemisphere knows what is good, true and beautiful. It is the cognitive processor of the awe, wonder, respect and deep sense of meaning found in the sacred.

Too many of us believe in nothing, while chasing anything, in order to feel something.

McGilchrist posits that this left-hemisphere dominance is a primary driver behind the current meta-crisis of meaning plaguing the modern world. The focus on the explicit, driven by the left hemisphere’s need for explication, has led to a deconstruction of everything into mechanistic parts. Phenomena that once inspired wonder and awe are carved at... See more

As we increasingly rely on the analytical left hemisphere, neglecting the holistic perspective of the right, we risk losing the sense of the sacred in our cultural constructs