From Sufi mysticism to vector databases — finding lineage in unexpected places
My grandfather wrote in 1968: "The problem with the hippies is they think they can take a magic pill and know more than their elders." My dad was a quintessential hippy — a star of the 1960s San Francisco psychedelic rock scene, so there was clearly some animosity in their relationship. Today, we might say the same about AI. Are we taking a digital magic pill, bypassing the hard-won wisdom of generations? Or is AI becoming something else entirely — a new vessel for transmitting lineage itself?
I was raised by my mom and step-dad who were deeply committed to their spiritual paths — my mom, a buddhist (following a Tibetan teacher), and my step-dad, a Sufi (following a western branch of Sufi mysticism) and an Indian classical singer (following an esoteric eastern music tradition). The word "lineage" was engrained into my upbringing — a word that, to me, means transmission and continuation, as well as respect and privilege.
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