Making AI Your Ally: Embracing Change
By Deepak Chopra, MD, FACP, FRCP
I had an overall purpose in writing my book Digital Dharma, which was to counter the fears and negative publicity surrounding AI. In the Indian spiritual tradition, Dharma is the evolutionary impulse of consciousness, constantly guiding us toward an ideal life. Achieving your personal Dharma is all-important because you are harnessing an invisible ally at the core of your own awareness.
The book presents seven strategies for finding your dharma, and I will use the first strategy, “Embrace change,” as an example of how AI can revolutionize the spiritual path through its almost unlimited access to knowledge and information. We can begin by asking ChatGPT, the chatbot that most people have heard of, a question about change, beginning with the most basic.
Deepak: On the emotional level, what does it feel like to resist change? Tell me in 50 to 60 words.
ChatGPT: Resisting change often feels like clinging to familiarity in a storm of uncertainty. It’s a mix of apprehension and discomfort, akin to holding on to the known even when it might not serve you anymore. There’s a sense of tension, a fear of the unknown, and a reluctance to let go despite the inevitability of transformation.
What immediately strikes me about ChatGPT’s answer, besides the fact that it took only a few seconds to respond, is how sensible, reliable, and straight the answer is. There is nothing in it to be anxious or suspicious about — anyone can relate. It is only natural to ask the opposite question.
Deepak: I admire people who embrace change. How do they feel inside?
ChatGPT: Those who embrace change often feel a sense of liberation and excitement. There’s a willingness to explore, an openness to new possibilities, and a curiosity about what lies ahead. They might feel empowered, adaptable, and optimistic, finding growth and opportunity in the evolving landscape of life.
If you compare these two opposite emotional states, you are likely to recognize that you aren’t decisively a person who resists change or someone who embraces it. Everyone’s emotional life is mixed, which leads to inner conflicts and confusion.
To embrace change in a meaningful way, you need to have clarity about what change means to you and why you’re choosing to embrace it. So far, I’ve only asked AI for information, but it has a creative side. For example, AI is good at making up quizzes. Here’s one that ChatGPT devised.
Deepak: Write me a quiz with 10 questions to test if I am the kind of person who embraces change.
ChatGPT:
1. Do you often seek out new experiences or opportunities?
■ Never ■ Not often ■ Sometimes ■ Very often
2. Are you generally open to trying different approaches or methods?
■ Never ■ Not often ■ Sometimes ■ Very often
3. Do you find it easy to adapt when unexpected changes occur?
■ Never ■ Not often ■ Sometimes ■ Very often
4. Are you excited by the prospect of venturing into unknown territories?
■ Never ■ Not often ■ Sometimes ■ Very often
5. Do you tend to view change as a chance for personal growth?
■ Never ■ Not often ■ Sometimes ■ Very often
6. Are you comfortable with uncertainty and unpredictability?
■ Never ■ Not often ■ Sometimes ■ Very often
7. Do you actively seek to learn from new situations or challenges?
■ Never ■ Not often ■ Sometimes ■ Very often
8. Are you open to altering your plans if better options present themselves?
■ Never ■ Not often ■ Sometimes ■ Very often
9. Do you enjoy meeting new people and exploring different cultures?
■ Never ■ Not often ■ Sometimes ■ Very often
10. Do you believe change brings about valuable lessons and opportunities?
■ Never ■ Not often ■ Sometimes ■ Very often
There are no wrong answers, and you don’t have to grade yourself on the quiz. Its aim was to let you see yourself more clearly on the issue of change. We can get much more specific. I might ask you, “Does feeling uncertain make you uncomfortable?” I’d expect the answer to be yes. Feeling certain is much more secure and safe than entertaining doubts. Because there are negative connotations about uncertainty that we’ve all absorbed secondhand. To be uncertain is to be indecisive, weak, wishy-washy, passive, or simply unaware of what is going on.
On the path to finding your Dharma, you will experience the hidden side of uncertainty. By definition, the unknown is uncertain. A process as familiar as thinking is actually taking place on the edge of uncertainty. You cannot predict what your next thought will be. It comes up from the unknown place where thoughts are born. The fact that thoughts rise from the unknown is a clue to a new perspective: It is creative to be uncertain. AI can reinforce this new, more positive, viewpoint.
Deepak: Can uncertainty be a positive thing, or even creative? Explain in 50 to 75 words.
ChatGPT: Uncertainty is what you make of it. To be uncertain is naturally part of the creative process, especially at the beginning when you envision what you want to paint, write, or achieve in any creative outlet. In that sense, uncertainty performs a positive role. It opens doors to new perspectives, pushing individuals out of their comfort zones to explore innovative solutions. Embracing uncertainty encourages adaptability and resilience, fostering a mindset that thrives on experimentation and novel ideas. Within this ambiguity lies the potential for discovery, growth, and the birth of fresh, groundbreaking concepts.
The possibilities for exploring how to embrace change expand from this point on. If you are new to AI, you might not realize it can do more than act as a glorified search engine. You can converse with a chatbot, ask it follow-up questions, confide personal details, request clarification, and include any length you want the answer to be. You can even prompt it with “Are there any other questions I should have asked?”
In the book, you will find much more detailed and practical advice about embracing change. What I wanted to show here is a new area of possibilities, one that can enrich anyone’s life. Finding one’s Dharma has been a spiritual goal for centuries in every Eastern tradition, but the concept has had an uphill road to climb in the West. Adding a digital component feels futuristic to many people, but it is also a crucial opening for bringing spiritual goals into the modern secular world.
DEEPAK CHOPRA MD, FACP, FRCP, founder of The Chopra Foundation, a non-profit entity for research on well-being and humanitarianism, and Chopra Global, a whole health company at the intersection of science and spirituality, is a world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation. Chopra is a Clinical Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of California, San Diego, and serves as a senior scientist with Gallup Organization. He is the author of over 90 books translated into over forty-three languages, including numerous New York Times bestsellers. Chopra has been at the forefront of the meditation revolution for the last thirty years. He is the author of the forthcoming book, Digital Dharma: How to Use AI to Raise Your Spiritual Intelligence and Personal Well-Being. TIME magazine has described Dr. Chopra as “one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century.” www.deepakchopra.com
