The job prospects for young people are more uncertain than ever due to Artificial Intelligence. But instead of turning their backs on technology, Gen Z is now using tools like ChatGPT for something unexpected: spiritual life coaching and tarot cards.
The San Francisco Standard reports on a strange dynamic that is currently unfolding on TikTok, Reddit, and Threads. Young people are facing the start of their careers and looking into an uncertain future. The unemployment rate among college graduates is rising, and the fear that AI will soon consume entry-level jobs is huge.
The absurd reaction to this? To ask that very AI how life will unfold.
The 19-year-old student Shikha Iyer sums up the dilemma:
“You talk about the future with the very reason you are worried about the future at all.”
ChatGPT as a Fortune Teller: “I wanted a confirmation”
The phenomenon is making waves in the tech world. The 19-year-old Juliet Zou faced the tough decision of which college to choose. Instead of having the AI write an application essay, she fed ChatGPT her birth date, time, and place. The goal: an astrological analysis of her desired university. The AI gave her the needed bit of confidence – today she is successfully studying in her first year.
The market has long sniffed out this trend:
- Apps & Features: Platforms like Sanctuary offer hybrid solutions combining AI tarot and real media.
- Big Brands: Spotify analyzes your “audio aura”, while the Astro app Co-Star generates horoscopes from NASA data.
- Outlandish Startups: The company TarotPunk has developed a deck of cards specifically aimed at tech founders looking for answers to their next funding round.
Even Professional Witches Are Surprised, But…
Can an algorithm without a soul really provide spiritual guidance? Even absolute professionals in the field show themselves to be cautiously impressed.
Leslie Schaffer (45) has been reading cards professionally in San Francisco for 30 years. For an experiment, she had ChatGPT interpret a complex 9-card spread. Her verdict: “I hate to say it, but it’s not bad. But it doesn’t breathe. It’s not the same.”
Other human tarot readers are much stricter. For them, what is lost through the AI trend is exactly what makes the whole thing magical: the human connection, the shared contemplation, and the interpersonal.
Why does this even work?
For many young people, AI offers a safe space that the real world often denies them. Chatbots do not judge, they have no prejudices, are available around the clock, and do not expect anything in return.
Some are now using ChatGPT not only for tarot but even as a substitute for talk therapy to discuss relationship stress or roommate issues. In a world that feels increasingly colder due to rapid technological change, young people are seeking refuge exactly where they can find it – even if it comes from the server room.
What do you think about it? Would you let an AI predict your future or share your worries with ChatGPT? Let us know in the comments!
The concerns are certainly understandable: Gen Z has just entered the workforce and is already being replaced by AI in one industry
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