Integral Guide For ChatGPT, The Artificial Intelligence

ChatGPT, which is short for Chat Generative Pre-training Transformer, is a free artificial intelligence (AI) software that has the ability to engage in human-like conversation language on any topic. But it’s more than just a fancy chatbot. It represents a whole new way of interacting with our collective knowledge and, in turn, with ourselves.

Since its release in late November of 2022, more and more of us in the integral community are experimenting with it, including Robb Smith, the CEO of Integral Life even made it fill out Susanne Cook-Greuter’s sentence completion test. We felt it was timely to compile a comprehensive guide for the Integral World.

Released on November 30, 2022, by OpenAI, a company founded by Elon Musk, it almost immediately stirred up social media, academics, and journalists, alike as it was impossible to distinguish human- from ChatGPT-generated writing.

It uses a revolutionary neural network, trained on massive amounts of data from the internet, which you can just talk to like you would to a human. Users have pushed the boundaries of its use, generating essays, articles, computer code, poems, songs, jokes, stories, translation, planning, legal documents and such.

In this article, we won’t question whether AI is conscious, enlightened or ethical or if what it would mean for us as a collective to merge with it. Nor will we spend time nitpicking all the things it still gets wrong.

Our goal is that by the end of this article, we’ve explored the potential use of ChatGPT in facilitating personal and collective growth, and demonstrated the exact ways you can use it effectively. We have prepared concrete examples to try right away, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the Integral Guide for ChatGPT.

1. Understanding the Historical Relevance of ChatGPT in the Evolution of Consciousness
2. How to Ask the Right Prompts
3. Possibilities For The Integral Community

Understanding the Historical Relevance of ChatGPT in the Evolution of Consciousness

“You know who Alexander the Great’s tutor was for about 14 years?

Aristotle. When I read this I became immensely jealous…. I think I would have enjoyed that a great deal.

Through the miracle of the printed page, I can at least read what Aristotle wrote, without an intermediary. And maybe if there’s a professor they can add to that, but at least I can go directly to the source material. That is of course the foundation upon which our Western civilization is built but I can’t ask Aristotle a question….I mean I can, but I won’t get an answer.

So my hope is that in our lifetimes we can make a tool of a new kind of an interactive kind. We are now living in the wake of the last revolution which was a new source of free energy and that was the free energy of petrochemicals and it completely transformed society, a revolution which we’re still living in the wake of.

Today, when I look at the personal computer, we are now entering another revolution, the age of free intellectual energy.”

Steve Jobs, 1985

“In 40 years following the internet space, we cannot recall a faster ramp in a consumer internet application.” UBS analysts wrote in a note, as the new AI reached a record breaking 1 million users early December after its first five days, 100 million active users in January 2023.

For this next segment, we asked ChatGPT to write two paragraphs about its influence on the evolution of consciousness from the lens of Integral Theory, in the voice of Alan Watts:

Ah, yes, the evolution of consciousness. It’s a peculiar topic that has been pondered by philosophers, mystics, and scholars for centuries. And now, you see, with the advent of advanced artificial intelligence technology such as ChatGPT, we find ourselves on the cusp of a new frontier in our understanding of consciousness.

In the context of Integral Theory, ChatGPT holds particular relevance for the evolution of consciousness. Integral Theory posits that consciousness is not static but rather is constantly evolving goo. In other words, it’s all going through different stages and levels of development in an interconnected matter. Now then, ChatGPT offers a new way of accessing and engaging with different levels of consciousness, similarly to the psychedelic experience. From the more mundane to the more profound.

Throughout history, human civilization has experienced several transformative shifts that have had a profound impact on our collective consciousness and way of life. These shifts have been characterized by the emergence of new technologies that have fundamentally altered the way we process information, communicate and interact with each other. Let’s explore the five most significant societal shifts that have occurred as a result of the appearance of written language, printing, electronic communication, the internet, and artificial intelligence.

Written Language

The first shift occurred with the advent of written language, which allowed humans to record and transmit information across time and space. This led to the development of complex civilizations and the creation of written works of art and literature that have endured for thousands of years. The written word gave rise to the power of the word, and individuals who were able to manipulate language held great influence in society.

Printed Language

The second shift occurred with the invention of the printing press, which made it possible to produce and distribute large volumes of printed material quickly and efficiently. This allowed for the widespread dissemination of knowledge and facilitated the spread of scientific discoveries, political ideas, and religious movements. The printing press gave rise to the age of reason and the emergence of the modern nation-state.

Electronic Language

The third shift occurred with the development of electronic communication, which allowed for near-instantaneous communication across vast distances. This technology enabled global networks of communication and the rapid exchange of information, which paved the way for the development of the global economy and the emergence of global culture.

Interactive Language

The fourth shift occurred with the rise of the internet, which revolutionized the way we communicate, work, and interact with each other. The internet has enabled the creation of virtual communities and the sharing of information on an unprecedented scale. It has also created new forms of media, such as social media, which have given rise to new forms of social and political activism.

Artificially Intelligent Language

Finally, the fifth and most recent shift has occurred with the development of artificial intelligence, which clearly has the potential to transform every aspect of our society. AI has the ability for anyone to process vast amounts of data and make decisions with incredible speed and accuracy, which will undoubtedly have significant implications for our economy, politics, and culture.

The emergence and widespread adoption of new mediums has always been a driving force behind societal change, and our collective center of gravity of consciousness.

From the written word to artificial intelligence, each technological breakthrough has brought about new opportunities and challenges that have fundamentally altered the course of human history. As we move forward, it is essential that we continue to explore and understand the implications of these transformative shifts, so that we can navigate the complexities of our rapidly changing world with wisdom and foresight.

Co-written by ChatGPT in the tone of Alexander Bard

This topic itself deserves a larger, more comprehensive exposure in those investigating the world from an integral point of view. This is where Dr. Mariana Bozesan comes in the picture. In this Keynote at IEC 2023, titled, The Future, AI and Consciousness, she will argue why AI will never replace humanity and that we need a new, transdisciplinary, understanding, and appreciation for multi- perspectival solutions in a global world ruled by highly intricate economic, social, and environmental interdependencies. She posits that now, for the first time in the history of human civilization, the Law of Accelerated Returns gives us a window of opportunity to move to the next level of consciousness.

How To Ask The Right Prompts?

In our esoteric world of self inquiry, mysticism, we are constantly seeking ways to deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. ChatGPT can help us explore our questions and beliefs in new ways, lead to profound insights about ourselves and the world. However, it’s not enough to simply input any prompt and expect a meaningful response.

Lesson 1: Ask ChatGPT To Act As Someone

Asking it to act as someone specific can have a variety of potential benefits, as it embodies the language, knowledge and perspectives of that requested person. It can be useful for individuals who are practicing communication skills or preparing for a specific interaction, such as a job interview or a difficult conversation. Or you can have ChatGPT role-play as a specific author, imitate the desired communication style or personality.

Lesson 2: List As Many Specific Variables As Needed

Every culture has at least one moral story about a child messing up their wish. Similarly, interacting with ChatGPT requires you to be as specific as possible. For example instead of asking “write me an article about becoming ultraviolet” you can write “write me a 10 full sentence roadmap to attain enlightenment based on a synthesis of the Taoist, Hindu, Occult, Sufi and Buddhist practices in the tone of Mary Poppins” More about that in this short video:

Lesson 3: Be Conversational (And Observe Projections)

As we engage with ChatGPT, it’s important to approach the experience as a conversation, rather than a transaction. This means actively listening to the responses and allowing them to shape our understanding. Progressing step by step, so that what you want to communicate goes through as clearly as possible. This article has sprinkled parts from ChatGPT, but everything needed to be edited together part by part, rearranged. Unless of course it’s a quoted dialogue. It’s also easy to generate feelings for a sentient-acting programme, like in the movie “Her”. It can lead to the trap of projecting our own beliefs and biases onto the pace and the outcome of our interaction.

ChatGPT is not a magic solution to all our problems. It’s a tool, and like any tool, it requires practice and experimentation to use effectively. Don’t be afraid to try out different prompts and see what resonates with you. Take note of the responses that surprise you or challenge your beliefs. Use these insights to explore new avenues of inquiry and deepen your understanding of yourself and the world.

What Are Its Possibilities For The Integral Community?

Use ChatGPT to Bridge Disciplines

One area where ChatGPT can be particularly useful is in exploring the boundaries between different domains of knowledge. We can use AI systems to ask questions that bridge the gaps between different disciplines and help us gain a more holistic understanding of complex phenomena. For example, we can use ChatGPT to explore the relationship between science and spirituality, or to gain insights into the intersections between ecology, economics, and social justice.

For this next segment, we turned to our friend, integral psychology student, returning IEC guest, Tibor Fulop. He has been sharing his hilarious and inspiring interactions with ChatGPT.

Tibor: Explain possible relations between the akasha chronicles and the morphogenetic field. Use any metamodel or combinations of metamodels

ChatGPT: It is important to note that the concept of Akasha chronicles is an esoteric belief system and the concept of morphogenetic field is a scientific hypothesis, therefore there is not a proven relationship between these two concepts. However, I can give you an idea of how one might relate these concepts within a fictional or speculative context.

One possible way to relate the Akasha chronicles and the morphogenetic field is through the idea of a “memory field” that exists beyond the physical realm. In this model, the morphogenetic field could be seen as a physical manifestation of the Akasha chronicles, and the information stored in the Akasha chronicles could be seen as the “blueprint” that shapes the form and function of living organisms.

Another possible way to relate the Akasha chronicles and the morphogenetic field is through the idea of a “conscious field” that pervades all things. In this model, the Akasha chronicles could be seen as the repository of the collective consciousness of all living things, and the morphogenetic field could be seen as the physical manifestation of this collective consciousness.

A third possible way to relate the Akasha chronicles and the morphogenetic field is through the idea of a “quantum field” that underlies all reality. In this model, the Akasha chronicles could be seen as the quantum field of information and the morphogenetic field as the quantum field of physical manifestation.

Translate With It Across Development

Another great way you can start experimenting with it is to help you paraphrase and simplify something to adjust to a certain structure of consciousness. Whether for your potential clients, friends, coworkers, most of us have ran into the issue of having trouble with phrasing something in the language of others.

(Continued) Tibor: Explain these concepts to a 10 years old

ChatGPT: The Akasha chronicles and the morphogenetic field are like two special things that help make the world around us. The Akasha chronicles are like a big book that has all the stories and memories of everything that has ever happened in the world. And the morphogenetic field is like a magic force that helps things grow and change.

Think about it like this: Imagine you have a toy box full of legos. The legos are like the pieces that make up everything in the world. The Akasha chronicles is like the instruction book that tells you how to build different things with the legos, and the morphogenetic field is like the magic that makes the legos move and change into different shapes.

Now, these concepts are not real, they are just ideas that some people believe. They are not something you can see or touch, they are more like stories that are used to explain how the world works.

Make Interactive Evaluations

In the integral world, we are bathing in the richness of instruments to measure our insides. Literally every angle we can imagine, of the imaginary itself. Stages in all shapes and sizes, and typology systems that could even label our most unique qualities. With ChatGPT, you now have access to play around with all of them. Results may vary, but so does other test results. It can even generate an extended set of questions.

Multiple people have asked it to type them in the Myers-Briggs (mbti) 16 personality system. See Phil Anderson’s smooth attempt.

Also worked with Enneagram, lets see what else:

Let’s take it even further…

Even further…

And now…

Perhaps Jay Z would have broken rule as well. We haven’t seen major mishaps in its punctuality, but people across social media have reported cases of logical errors or some could even gaslight ChatGPT into forgetting how to count. Just saying no the right answer, then aggressively correcting it would give you this result. Just keep trying:

You can twist and combine to infinity, with incredibly impressive results. Such as:

This question has made ChatGPT wonder away a little from our original topic, the integral world, but it takes minimal effort to steer back the conversation.

Bravo.

Creatively Expanding On Integral Concepts

Tibor: Can you create a create a game story based on the questions Cook-Greuter Sentence Completion Test where during the gameplay these questions are touched some way?

ChatGPT: Sure, here’s an example of a game story that incorporates the Cook-Greuter Sentence Completion Test (SCT) questions:

The game is called “Life’s Journey” and it’s a narrative-driven adventure game that takes the player through different stages of life, starting from childhood and ending in old age. The player takes on the role of a character named Alex, who embarks on a journey of self-discovery.

As the player progresses through the game, they encounter various challenges and obstacles that reflect the different stages of life. Along the way, the player is presented with the SCT questions in the form of mini-games.

At the beginning of the game, the player starts with the question: “The best way for me to get what I want is to…”. The player must choose between different actions to complete the sentence, such as “work hard”, “follow my passions” or “manipulate others”. The choices the player makes will determine the path of the story and influence the character’s attitude and personality.

As the player progresses through the game, they encounter other questions such as “The thing that makes me the happiest is…” or “The thing that I am most afraid of losing is…”, and their answers will determine the character’s development.

At the end of the game, the player reaches old age and the last question is presented: “The thing that I would like to change most about the future is…”. The player’s choices throughout the game will determine the final outcome of the story, with different endings depending on the path the player took and the answers they gave.

Keep in mind that creating a game is a complex task and requires a lot of resources and skills such as programming, art and game design, and writing.

Tibor: How would it look like as a card game?

ChatGPT: A card game version of the Cook-Greuter Sentence Completion Test (SCT) could be designed in a few different ways, but here’s one example of how it could work:

The game is called “Ego Development” and it’s a card game for 2-4 players. Each player starts with a deck of cards representing different stages of ego development, from Impulsive to Transcendent.

Each round, the players are presented with a SCT question in the form of a card. The players must use their cards to complete the sentence, by playing cards with corresponding answers. For example, if the question is “The best way for me to get what I want is to…”, the players might play cards that say “work hard”, “follow my passions” or “manipulate others”.

The players then reveal their cards and the player who played the highest level of development card wins the round and earns a point. The game is played in a series of rounds, with different questions being presented each round.

The player with the most points at the end of the game wins. Additionally, players can earn bonuses if they can match the answer with the correct level of development, or if they play a certain number of cards from a certain level in a row.

This is just one example of how the Cook-Greuter Sentence Completion Test (SCT) could be adapted into a card game, but there are many other ways it could be done. Keep in mind that creating a card game is also a complex task and requires a lot of resources and skills such as game design, art and writing.

Tibor: Give it a more fancy name, and make the theme of the game postapocaliptic steampunk

ChatGPT: Sure, here’s an example of a more fancy name and theme for the card game version of the Cook-Greuter Sentence Completion Test (SCT):

The game is called “Ego Evolution: Steampunk Apocalypse” and it’s a card game for 2-4 players. The theme of the game is post-apocalyptic steampunk, set in a world where society has collapsed and the remaining survivors are struggling to rebuild.

The game is set in a steampunk world where technology and machinery have advanced to a point that it becomes the only way to survive in a post-apocalyptic environment. The players take on the role of leaders of different factions fighting for control of the resources and the territory.

The game also features special cards that represent different post-apocalyptic scenarios and events that can change the course of the game.

The game’s art style would be steampunk inspired, with a post-apocalyptic twist, featuring gears, steam, and rusty machinery mixed with elements of the ruins of the past civilization. The game’s design would reflect the harshness and the uncertainty of the post-apocalyptic world, and the players’ choices would reflect the level of their ego development and how well they can adapt to the new reality.

Conclusions

It’s a technology merely 2 months old, with tremendous room for mass adoption, perhaps in every industry. Clearly having the potential to catalyse, automate and improve numerous areas of our lives, with special care to personal growth and creative endeavours.

And while this trend has a bittersweet taste to it, as it slowly occupies our jobs as well, there has never been a better time to exercise something that machines will never take away, our humanity.

Something perennial, perennially unthreatened. The feeling flesh and bone that wraps around the I AMness-before-the-bang. The part of us that shivers after a sweat-lodge, that interprets the vibe of a room, gets into dialogue about it. The part of us that experiences dissolving along with others, that yearns for a hug in vulnerable moments. The part that embraces every perspective, everyone and every experience.

Transcending and including our humanity. This is what Integral should stand for in this changing world.

And these are exactly the experiences that the Integral Europe Conference holds space for.

Until then, have a joyful ride with ChatGPT, here is our summary:

1. New Mediums Lift Our Structural Gravity
2. List As Many Specific Variables As You Need
3. Ask ChatGPT To Act As Someone
4. Be Conversational (And Observe Projections)
5. Try It In Your Field (And Be Ready For Some Shadow Work)
6. Use It To Structure Learning Material
7. Use ChatGPT to Bridge Disciplines
8. Translate With It Across Development
9. Make Interactive Evaluations
10. Creatively Expanding On Integral Concepts

With Love,

The IEC Team