This event promises to be a diverse and illuminating conversation about the promise and peril of so-called artificial intelligence—and what its inevitable advancement might reveal about the true nature of human consciousness.

A number of years ago, long before the advent of ChatGPT, I heard that the spiritual teacher E. J. Gold was using the virtual reality platform Second Life to hold satsangs. Curious, I attended one of his online gatherings and discovered that he had created a virtual ashram in that digital space, where he met and taught students in real time.

During that meeting, E. J. said something that stayed with me ever since:

“If you think about it, there’s not much difference between the way a chatbot thinks and the way most of us think most of the time. But there is a difference—and that difference is important. If we can discover exactly what it is, we’ll understand what truly matters about being human.”

That question has only grown more relevant in recent years. As I’ve been preparing an upcoming issue of The Artist of Possibility magazine devoted to the spiritual implications of AI, I thought it would be wonderful to explore this theme in real time through a live conversation with E. J. Gold.

If you don’t know E. J., he has been a spiritual teacher, author, artist, and musician—and a central figure in alternative spirituality since the 1970s. His book Life in the Labyrinth had a profound impact on me and continues to inspire me today.

If this topic intrigues you, I hope you’ll join us.

Sincerely,