People are using AI for everything, so it's no surprise that artificial intelligence has entered the astrology world. Over the last few years, we've seen a surge in AI chatbots offering spiritual guidance, particularly in astrology. Some people go to astrology-specific apps, while others turn to ChatGPT to give them insight into their zodiac sign, birth chart, and other elements of the cosmos. But is AI the new, hot astrologer in town? Obviously, people like me have thoughts.
As a professional (human) astrologer, I can understand the allure of astrology AI (seemingly unlimited information at your fingertips is always attractive), and I can even see some practical uses for this technology. But as we're learning across the board, AI can't replace the real thing.
Jenna, a client I've been advising for two years, uses ChatGPT to get a little taste of astrology when she's going through a hard time. The technology might offer some general guidance or insight for Jenna, but she finds that it doesn't fulfill her thirst for an in-depth assessment. Matt, who has been studying astrology for a year, agrees with Jenna — they use astrology AI as a tool for a novice stargazer when they cannot get a reading or seek knowledge from a real-life expert. Both Matt and Jenna say the information or advice they get from AI is pretty general, not truly tailored to them or their experience.
Astrologer and editor MaKayla McRae has experienced similar results — she likes that AI can offer people basic knowledge about astrology, but has found that information isn't always reliable.
“Some clients seem to have learned a lot of useful facts or information about their birth charts or astrology overall [from AI]. I'm happy they felt they could access helpful information when it wasn't easy to find otherwise. I understand this is the appeal, and I want to validate that people looking for answers are sometimes gatekept," McRae says. "However, there have also been clients who tell me ChatGPT gave them a fatalistic, fear-mongering response that leads them to reach out to me to explain what a transit or chart aspect really means. Or, clients have mentioned concepts in astrology that are simply inaccurate, and I need to redirect them to accurate sources to learn from gently.”
Still, other astrologers see ChatGPT not necessarily as a replacement for in-person assessments, but as a tool we can use to analyze information differently. AI filters information that we are telling it, so astrologer Alberto Toribio sometimes helps the chatbot evolve into a better tool. In the process, it assists him too. “At times, I’ll feed GPT my notes from what I’ve learned on the topic of astrology, teach it all I have gathered on the subject so it can help me organize and expand on some of my notes," Toribio says. "Maybe even form connections I didn’t see before.”
For astrology enthusiast and editor Christina Pérez, there's “nothing inherently wrong with" AI astrology, it's simply another way to gain insight into yourself. "[If] someone is interested in getting to know themselves better, whether that's through astrology, tarot, psychotherapy, or ritual — any kind of spiritual practice…the intention is to dive deeper into your own truth. I think that it's amazing that there are so many tools available to us right now to do that,” Pérez says. Still, AI isn't the only way to do that. “Sometimes people forget that they can read things in books and look things up on other websites and talk to people…the ultimate thing is to make sure that you're getting the information,” Pérez says.
This is an important note because there are negative impacts of using AI for simple questions. Tools like ChatGPT have a significant environmental impact, they aren't always accurate, and — particularly in the case of using AI for spiritual guidance — these bots can contribute to delusional thinking.
“ChatGPT offers all of the affirmation without the elements of interacting with other people," professional astrologer Lauren Ash says. “It tailors its speech to you so that you hear what you want — how you want.”
This, Ash notes, opens users up to getting potentially sensitive information without the ethical boundaries that a human practitioner holds.
“With human to human connection, practitioners are expected to maintain a certain level of decorum, boundaries, and ethics with clients. You can’t hold a GPT spiritualist responsible for what it tells people to do,” Ash says. "It’s a chatbot. In our age of Aquarius, with so many technological advances like voice to memo text, apps that do the labor…and social media, many people don’t have much [human] interaction.”
Part of the beauty of an astrological reading is the astrologer’s interpretation based on years of studying. There is nothing wrong with using a chatbot, but for this and for many other reasons, it's probably not smart to solely rely on AI as your ultimate cosmic resource. Read your horoscopes, books, and study with your fave astrologer to get the full scoop.
