Cosmic Intelligence
Welcome to Cosmic Intelligence (formerly Spiritual But Not Ridiculous), a podcast that explores philosophy (Western and Vedic), consciousness, cosmology, spirituality, and technologies in the broadest sense—technologies of the sacred, of transformation, and of the mundane. As we enter this age of artificial intelligence (AI), we focus in particular on AI and its implications for humanity, questions of consciousness, AI safety and alignment, and what it means to be human in the 21st century, as well as its impact on our shared worldview. Since worldviews create worlds we will always keep one eye on our shifting worldview, hoping to encourage it along from materialism to idealism. In terms of consciousness and spirituality, we also explore spiritual practices and other ways to expand consciousness, the importance of feeling our feelings, how to cultivate compassion and empathy, find balance, and lean into fear as a practice. Sometimes we have guests. We approach all subjects from a grounded and discerning perspective. Your host is Chad Jayadev Woodford, a philosopher, cosmologist, master yoga teacher, Vedic astrologer, lawyer, and technologist.
Episodes
In this episode I explore the complex relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and wisdom, particularly focusing on discernment. I argue that while AI can hinder discernment by perpetuating biases and misinformation, it also holds some potential for cultivating it through tools that aid meditation and self-reflection. I also emphasize the importance of truth and self-awareness in this "age of AI." U...
Continuing our deep dive into what it means to be human in the age of AI, and inspired by the physicalist yet transcendent worldviews of the transhumanists, in this episode I start to explore the concept of worldviews, focusing first on physicalism / scientific materialism (the idea that matter / energy is fundamental), and how that particular metaphysics or worldview was based entirely on a series of assumptions that...
The irony of the application of the word “hallucination” to LLMs making mistakes is that they are completely incapable of having psychedelic experiences. Why does that matter?
In this mind-bending exploration, we dive into the fascinating intersection of artificial intelligence and expanded states of consciousness. We examine how imagination, creativity, and innovation seem to arise more frequently in altered...
Artificial general intelligence, or superintelligence, is not right around the corner like AI companies want you to believe, and that's because intelligence is really hard.
Major AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic (as well as Ilya Sutskever’s new company) have the explicit goal of creating artificial general intelligence (AGI), and claim to be very close to doing so using technology that doesn’t see...
Long time no talk! I just finished my masters in philosophy, cosmology and consciousness, which didn’t leave me much time for producing this podcast in the past nine months. But I’m back with a short episode that offers a preview of a thesis I am developing around the hype and mythology of artificial intelligence, and the ways that it sidelines the human.
Part of my mission is to expose the cyborgian, techgnostic ideol...
This week we're sharing an episode of a podcast called Hit of Happiness, where Chad spoke to Brian Dubow about artificial intelligence and consciousness, among many other things. This may have been Chad's favorite interview so far, just because he loves talking to Brian and because they explored so many topics in such a coherent fashion.
This interview is a great teaser for this three-part series Chad is work...
In this episode, Chad explores a scientific theory of consciousness first put forth by Nobel Laureate Roger Penrose and Dr. Stuart Hameroff in the 1990s called quantum consciousness. This unorthodox, yet-scientific theory proposes that consciousness arises out of highly coordinated quantum processes occurring in the cells of the brain. This theory combines quantum mechanics, relativity, neuroscience, cognitive science...
Chad is relaunching his podcast with a new name and a broader focus! Starting this week on this same feed, the show will be called Cosmic Intelligence and explore fundamental questions about philosophy, artificial intelligence, consciousness, cosmology and what it means to be human in this new age. We will delve into philosophical ideas, spiritual practices and reflections on how technology is shaping the human experi...
This week I talk to Hilary Jackendoff, a yoga nidra and meditation teacher and trainer, and Human Design coach. She’s also a powerful, heart-centered woman. To me, Hilary is the ideal teacher: wise yet humble, evolved yet grounded, knowledgeable yet hilarious.
In this episode, we talk about Yoga Nidra, states of consciousness, how Hilary came to the spiritual path, the importance of rest, making spiritual practices ac...
This week I discuss discernment: What it is, why it’s important, how it can prevent ridiculousness, why that matters, and how to increase our discernment. As part of this discussion, I explore the Yog-Vedantic theory of mind and specific practices that can help us be more discerning, including self study, kriya, classical Tantrik practices, having a teacher you can trust, spiritual community, working with sacred plant...
This week I talked to Kerri Kelly, the founder of CTZNWELL, a movement that is democratizing wellbeing for all. A descendant of generations of firemen and first responders, Kerri has dedicated her life to kicking down doors and fighting for justice. She’s been teaching yoga for over 20 years and is known for making waves in the wellness industry by challenging norms, disrupting systems, and mobilizing people to act. A...
In this episode I talk to Schuyler Brown, a futurist, facilitator, coach, teacher of embodiment and meditation, and a writer. You can find her at artofemergence.com and her essays/poems are on Medium @ schuylerbrown.
In the course of a broad-ranging discussion, Schuyler and I talk about grace; classical Tantra and the descending path; down-home, Kentucky spirituality; roots and rooting down; nature and the l...
In this episode, we approach plant medicine from a yogic perspective. And we explore how yoga and sacred plant medicine are complementary practices with a long-standing symbiotic tradition; how yoga can be a powerful preparatory and integrative practice when working with plants; and how yoga can also be a powerful alternative to working with plants—not everyone needs to work with plants.
It’s Native American...
My guest this week is Adam Schomer, a documentary film and television director, writer, and producer, and the president of i2i Productions. Adam is probably most known for the Netflix documentary HEAL and is currently spearheading the global online summit for the film Fantastic Fungi.
Adam is also a dear friend and a personal inspiration to me. He’s a great example of how spirituality and the spiritual path ...
Inspired by friends, family, and people like Daniel Pinchbeck, who have been so critical of spirituality, I mount a full-throated defense of spirituality, first acknowledging the pitfalls and shortcomings. Spirituality for me is a holistic worldview and set of practices that make us more relevant and impactful in the world, instead of more escapist and checked-out.
Authentic spirituality is becoming a spirit...
My podcast guest this week is Meghan Kemp, a dedicated student and teacher of yoga, who is integrating eastern practices into western culture (which is why I was so excited to talk to her). She has been practicing yoga since she was 14 and teaching asana, meditation, breathwork and kriya for the past five years. Following a year of living, studying and teaching at an ashram in northern India, Meghan has returned to th...
What were we doing when we unchained this earth from its sun? Whither is it moving now? Whither are we moving? Away from all suns? Are we not plunging continually? Backward, sideward, forward, in all directions? Is there still any up or down? Are we not straying as through an infinite nothing? Do we not feel the breath of empty space? Has it not become colder? Is not night continually closing in on us? — F...
In this inaugural episode of the podcast I attempt to define spirituality, explain the title, and talk about the themes and topics I will be exploring on future episodes, including:
- how authentic spirituality can be the most effective way to make a positive impact on the world,
- the burgeoning Wisdom Revolution,
- spiritual ego & spiritual bypass,
- Vedic astrology,
- plant medicine, and
- the elements of yoga beyond a...
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