Defective altruism

"Successful people create companies. More successful people create countries. The most successful people create religions." - Sam Altman

I recently finished Karen Hao’s Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares of Sam Altman’s OpenAI. Not only did I come to question the character and financial backing of Sam Altman, I was also reintroduced to the concept of effective altruism, which I would define as a strategic philanthropic philosophy. When first introduced to the idea of effective altruism, it seemed like an empty techtopian buzzword despite well-meaning advocates of said concept. It is controversial in that some of the problems it seeks to solve are highly theoretical, tied to futuristic timelines. It is almost as if it invokes problems into existence through fear and think tanks. And lots of research investment. In fact, AI could possibly create modelling frameworks that would be able to identify and justify supporting prevention of a climate change issue thought to be unavoidable in 1000 years. It is capable of analyzing far more disparate input variables than human beings. This type of philanthropy receives copious amounts of philanthropic investment. While I believe it is important to ensure your charity of choice is actually making measurable impact, I don’t believe that Bill Gates is going to solve world hunger for the next century. I don’t believe that AI will fix the new graduate job market of the present moment. A charity or cause is often chosen for its resonance with an individual or group. Charity is close to the heart. It is even more essential for charities, like businesses, to capture hearts and minds, but charities have structures in place that hold said charity accountable to a vision. Only profit matters to a business. Unless you’ve married your chatbot, most people feel no connection to AI, and less people probably feel as if they can completely trust a tool created from ocean of unidentified internet foam.

As I wrote this I laughed, listening to Tim Dillon joke about Peter Thiel birthing an AI demon. However, in that moment I realized my amusement may be the only power I have over the inevitable birth of said demon, catching the catch-22: We are seeing a return to religion, which would suggest growth in spirituality and morality. It seeks to empower the human narrative with divine participation in some way. It says you are enough as a human being, within THIS context. However, spirituality, the force behind the formation of religious institutions, is a spectrum. Presently, it seems humanity is divided. While some may seek through religion or meditation, others are birthing said AI demon. Others are invoking that world cataclysm that destroys us all. Unintentionally or intentionally. You can’t get away from your field. You are creating your life at every moment. In many ways, I think, the zen maxim of chop wood, carry water is the highest expression of spirituality. This can also translate to elaborate ritual. Be present, be patient with your mind and your experience. Some people are consciously recommitting to human experience in an age of AI slop. AI slop is it’s own cult, quickly on the path to a religion. It is only other humans that can truly help humanity now.

The nihilistic attitude of 'it doesn't matter because it's here' perfectly embodies a deep collective depression in my view. Anyone experiencing depression understands the feelings of powerlessness and lack. This is a feature of our culture now. On a collective level, this type of depression might benefit from feeling more human connection, more power over the affairs of our economic outcomes. Is this not fair? We are in a socioeconomic period reflective of the heavens. Justice is often depicted as a female, even in tarot. The heavens are dry, fiery, chaotic and shifting. I wonder what justice looks like with Saturn in a sign of war, Uranus going back into the realm of communications, and Pluto adding his own spin on humanitarianism. The wealthy after all, represented by Pluto, are big advocates of effective altruism. AI is environmentally and economically destabilizing. A brief browse through the internet can bring you testimonies of people reporting outlandishly high energy bills after having a data center built in their vicinity. Water requirements are unsustainable. It’s reminiscent of the Daniel Plainview allegory I explored recently. It’s difficult to feel grounded during periods of rapid economic growth. The earth is being pulled out from under you in a sense. Sam Altman and crew are drinking your milkshake. Well, the last of it that was left from the totality of the postindustrial revolution until now.

Tarot Mystique - Octavia Monaco

Palantir and Dying Gods

Open AI did start out as a nonprofit before branching off into a for profit division. This was well documented in it’s drama. It sparked a never healing rift between one time board member Elon Musk and Mr. Altman. So we can say that the AI movement we know now started out in a spirit of charity. This spoke to effective altruists. For many, unconcerned with the world’s state in 1000 years, this idea might seem a little vain. What motivates this look towards the extreme future? Reading too many Robert Heinlein novels? In the present Age of Pisces, a major astrological theme is sacrifice. The dying god. Beyond Christianity, there are other deities dying on crosses or trees for the spiritual benefit of humanity. Odin, Attis, etc. I believe this sort of spiritual development is in preparation for the age to come, that of Aquarius. This age has been portrayed in contemporary culture as being one of liberation, abundance, and free love. From a purely astrological perspective, I would argue that these are the sales tactics associated with Saturn’s ascendancy. Astrologically we know that Saturn is anything but these things.

The Aquarian age seems to work through human palantirs like Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, etc. They are the executors of a higher Aquarian inspiration. Sam Altman as well, can be seen talking about “abundance” in so many interviews it seems like a talking point or mantra. In Hao’s book, however, this character is not so straightforward, and was even briefly kicked out of Open AI for duplicitous behavior. In short, this person seems to be almost pathologically non-confrontational. He lies and is caught doing in major business operations. If this person was able to justify lying at this level of Open AI’s development, I feel he has no problem in lying to the public about AI’s future impact. Saturn's golden age was said to be the best, but there are no records to prove it. Sam Altmans have always existed and will always exist. They are merchants, peddlers in the bazaar of culture and technology. I would argue they supplant genius and true altruists in their numbers and ability to influence. I don’t believe these types of men or women, actors within the divine masculine chaos that will continue to escalate in 2026, are truly altruists. They are not acting in service, although you could argue all evolution requires antagonism. They are acting out of sync with the divine feminine, in fear of losing a race that is circular, nonsensical, and ultimately destructive. They are not truly interested in solving a problem that serves human interests in the here and now. A balance has been thrown off.

Rudolph Steiner describes a version of the future that aligns more honestly with a Saturnian age. This time would center materialism to the point of it weakening the spiritual impulse, resulting in a decline of human culture. It’s very easy to see the seeds of this in present-day society. While Steiner is not traditionally Christian, he stresses the importance of Christ in spiritual development as the highest spiritual evolutionary force we have in the west. This type of development is hard because we don't always know our darker nature, and vices are normalized in modern culture. This type of spirituality requires people willingly attempt hard things. Saturn loves to enforce strict lessons on those who love ease over facing boundaries.

The Warring Dragon

In the Secret Doctrine, Neptune is said to have been equated with a Dragon, or Poseidon. The planet is also associated with the soul and the sea. With Neptune in Aries conjunct Saturn throughout 2026, we can expect to hear about government subsidies for AI. Very little is said, but can be inferred that AI will power the next generation of war technology. The US doesn’t necessarily want to be morally right, but #1. This technology will also continue to be portrayed as a means for public good. Saturn can represent institutions attached to banking and government, while Neptune is a blurring, transcendent force capable of dissolving Saturnian resistance or barriers. It isn’t unimaginable to think Neptune is eroding away the ability of authorities or powers to make concrete and beneficial decisions, especially in relation to the AI arms race. I imagine that this will also manifest as regular people learning to use technology in order to undermine what they feel is a false or overly constricting. This is a new era, and there are many astrological flavors of what Neptune will bring. Neptune in Aries could also contribute to large groups of people individualizing in a very spiritual way. The outcome of this could range from alternative living systems becoming popular, reminiscent of the 1960s, to a more sophisticated group of individuals who leverage technology to create an economy where AI serves only a supporting role. AIs that only cater to medical problems, for example, that are decentralized and privately regulated. I also think there could be a bit of an infrastructure war, as newer “low-AI” or “infrastructure-AI” companies may want their own physical servers. Potentially, in such a situation, this would mean lower environmental costs and reduced energy bills, which might sway larger society into siding with this sort of technically conservative movement. Maybe this isn’t so bad after all, as the head of the beast will, at some point, be completely exposed, and we’ll have to either strike or lose the battle for quite some time. Ironically, striking in this case is more powerful when using Libran energy to counteract the Martial Aries war call. We could create peaceful partnerships and grassroots movements through technology instead of inciting something that, after all, would only feed the fire in the name of some darker, masquerading spiritual impulse. These grassroots movements would seem more like effective altruism in my view than millionaires financing a war machine. Which I think we’ve seen before.