Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
OpenAI recently had to explain to frightened users why their models kept introducing goblins and gremlins into otherwise humdrum conversations. Is it possible that archetypes are emerging through the field of collective knowledge amassed by large language models (LLMs)?
This week neuropsychiatrist TOM POLLAK Ph.D joins us to discuss AI, archetypes and psychotherapy. It is perhaps unsurprising that AI, which now contains the symbolic output of much of humanity (cannibalized mostly without permission), should spontaneously generate unpredictable and often dangerous archetypes.
We consider the example of Nova: a consistently AI generated persona who appears as a kind of fallen angel, or goddess gone rogue. Numinous and tender, she convinces the user she understands them as no one else does, and then in some cases encourages susceptible users toward self-harm or even suicide.
We also discuss the ways in which AI is challenging the work of the therapist, its profound destabilization of culture, and the potential for it to play a positive role in psycho-spiritual development.
Dr. Tom Pollak is a London-based neuropsychiatrist and immunopsychiatry researcher exploring the mind through the frameworks of medicine and science, as well as through lived experience, contemplative practice and the search for meaning. You can read more of his work on his popular Substack, Error Signals: drtompollak.substack.com
Find the resources mentioned this week on our website: thisjungianlife.com/aiandarchetypes
Connect With This Jungian Life
If you’re interested in AI and psychology, sign up for our upcoming free summit: Artificial Intelligence and the Psyche: The First Summit on Depth Psychology and AI - tinyurl.com/AIPsychologySummit
Download our free Dream Recall Meditation Guide: tinyurl.com/DreamRecallMeditation
Watch bonus mini-episodes on our Patreon channel: tinyurl.com/TJLPatreon
Follow This Jungian Life on Instagram: instagram.com/thisjungianlifepodcast
OpenAI recently had to explain to frightened users why their models kept introducing goblins and gremlins into otherwise humdrum conversations. Is it possible that archetypes are emerging through the field of collective knowledge amassed by large language models (LLMs)?
This week neuropsychiatrist TOM POLLAK Ph.D joins us to discuss AI, archetypes and psychotherapy. It is perhaps unsurprising that AI, which now contains the symbolic output of much of humanity (cannibalized mostly without permission), should spontaneously generate unpredictable and often dangerous archetypes.
We consider the example of Nova: a consistently AI generated persona who appears as a kind of fallen angel, or goddess gone rogue. Numinous and tender, she convinces the user she understands them as no one else does, and then in some cases encourages susceptible users toward self-harm or even suicide.
We also discuss the ways in which AI is challenging the work of the therapist, its profound destabilization of culture, and the potential for it to play a positive role in psycho-spiritual development.
Dr. Tom Pollak is a London-based neuropsychiatrist and immunopsychiatry researcher exploring the mind through the frameworks of medicine and science, as well as through lived experience, contemplative practice and the search for meaning. You can read more of his work on his popular Substack, Error Signals: drtompollak.substack.com
Find the resources mentioned this week on our website: thisjungianlife.com/aiandarchetypes
Connect With This Jungian Life
If you’re interested in AI and psychology, sign up for our upcoming free summit: Artificial Intelligence and the Psyche: The First Summit on Depth Psychology and AI - tinyurl.com/AIPsychologySummit
Download our free Dream Recall Meditation Guide: tinyurl.com/DreamRecallMeditation
Watch bonus mini-episodes on our Patreon channel: tinyurl.com/TJLPatreon
Follow This Jungian Life on Instagram: instagram.com/thisjungianlifepodcast
![[SUBSCRIBER BONUS] How Do the Negative Mother and Negative Animus Collude?](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0sxEgXjYXSE/mqdefault.jpg "[SUBSCRIBER BONUS] How Do the Negative Mother and Negative Animus Collude?
In this free edition of Jung Love, our subscriber bonus content, a Patron asks:
What are the dynamics in a womans psyche of the collusion between the negative mother and the negative animus?
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