#50: Sleeping with the Enemy
Venus Rx Spoiler: It Doesn’t Work
OMG. Here I am again. If hearing from me on back to back days feels like a lot for you (couldn’t agree more) trust that I will be disappearing into the underworld with Venus throughout the upcoming retrograde, so this won’t be a regular thing. But while we’re here…please keep reading for a passionate hot take on artificial intelligence x Venus Rx x Pluto in Aquarius.
I’ve lost a lot of work to robots in the past year (let me go ahead and take this opportunity to plug my readings), and I’ve lamented it to friends and family with increasing fervor.
But it was this article* that made my frustrations click into place in a coherent way recently: it seems like while many people fear AI, they might fear being left behind by it even more.
*TLDR; Fiverr, trying to save itself, as its entire model is built on the gig economy currently being erased by AI, is suggesting that the creatives themselves— writers like me, ensure their survival by just…using AI?
It feels like trying to solve the gun problem with more guns. Yet another suggested doubling down, rather than a less sexy, ahem, less immediately profitable contemplation of a more holistically supportive way forward. Instead of artists staying true to their craft, capitalism is pushing them to just roll over and give into AI’s dominance by convincing them there’s simply no other way.
“Power dynamics between humanity and AI” is practically a textbook definition of the considerable Pluto in Aquarius transit we’re currently navigating (roughly 2025-2042)— and power dynamics between robots and real people alike are definitely something to review during Venus’ retrograde, beginning tomorrow.
When Pluto transits come along, people get scared. And rightfully so! Most people are uncomfortable with Pluto’s significations: intensity, death, and ultimately the unknown. The same can be true for Venus Retrograde periods, occurring every 18 months. We’re forced to review some potentially ugly truths and decide what we’re going to do about them.
So for me, knowing that people will continually pitch/be pitched that the robots inarguably replacing humans will save the same ones is seriously problematic. The mere suggestion is a trick, a trap, capitalist propaganda not unlike the pursuit of “ambition” I discussed recently. It’s also, unfortunately, unlikely to go anywhere anytime soon. But can we not hold this truth to be self-evident: if creatives want to keep being creative, the answer is obviously not to train AI to be creative for them.
I have a lot of frustrations and fewer answers, and I’m definitely self-aware enough to know I’m on the losing end of this battle right now. But equally, and maybe eccentrically, I know this to be a brief moment in a much larger war. And with Venus stationing retrograde in Aries tomorrow, there’s never been a better time to recognize what we stand for— and what we’re willing to fight for and protect.
Why are many people excited about AI? Why are many others so fearful of it? This simple, three letter word is one I encourage you to employ over the coming 40 days and 40 nights of Venus’ retrograde cycle. Let yourself venture down the rabbit holes that appear after your question(s) and be willing to bravely face what you uncover.
When I ask why? about AI, I’ve observed that the people excited about it are in positions of power— they’re the ones employing it. AI makes them richer. It saves time, it saves money, it produces faster results by cutting explicitly human corners— you don’t have to worry about it asking for a mental health day! It can’t have children that get sick! The exploitation guardrails don’t exist.
The why? regarding the people fearful of AI seems, unsurprisingly, to be the people being dominated by it (at least so far): a mix of creatives like me, women, environmentalists, and also, scarily, the godfather of AI himself.
Less powerful people being pitched that their enemy isn’t actually their enemy…it’s their friend (!!!) by more powerful people is a tale all too familiar. It’s like poor people being given soda for cheap on food stamps. It’s like teachers carrying guns at school. Certain small and exclusive groups continually benefit from broken systems like these. The whole point of them is to keep the vast majority of us trapped, reliant, and ultimately disempowered.
As Venus retrogrades through Aries until March 27th (and then back into Pisces till April 12th)— a theme emerges: What makes you, you, and how will you protect that moving forward?
I understand that the work of forging a different path in the face of powerful adversity/adversaries can be scary— but remember you’re not fighting alone. As my badass banjo playing neighbor said to me mid-discussion recently, community always prevails.
I refuse to die on the hill that AI designed— I think I’ll just paint my own.
Through time and space,
Erin River Sunday