Headlines are filled with doom and gloom predictions about the future of work and human relationships in the era of artificial intelligence.
But best-selling author and wellness leader Deepak Chopra is not afraid of this new tech.
“AI is here to stay,” he tells CNBC Make It. “And it can be used for harmful purposes, it can be misused, but it can also be beneficial.”
Chopra recently launched a wellness platform that features guided meditations, community message boards, and his very own AI chatbot. The bot draws from his decades of writing and talks, instructing users on the best practices for their own physical and mental health journeys.
General-use chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude, despite the wealth of information they can cull from, have their limits. These bots “have access to the entire database of humanity and the knowledge base,” Chopra says. But “they don’t have wisdom.”
For example, Claude might be able to give you a script for talking to a friend who’s hurt your feelings, but it doesn’t understand the complexity of the human experience.
AI is an algorithm that reacts to prompts and “doesn’t have spontaneous empathy or compassion,” Chopra says. Instead, what AI can help with is self exploration.
The best use of AI chatbots is for self-discovery, Chopra says
The proliferation of social media has led to an overwhelming emphasis on physical appearance, he says: “Everybody now has lost their self-esteem because it’s been replaced by self-image.”
Getting in touch with who you are, what matters to you and what your value system is — regardless of outside messaging, he says — can help you reprioritize and start focusing on activities that are more aligned with what brings you joy.
Chopra suggests that when you turn to your AI chatbot of choice, ask it questions like the following:
- What do I really want?
- What is my purpose?
- What am I grateful for?
- How do I cultivate self-compassion?
- How do I cultivate compassion for others?
- How do I create joy in my life?
The bot won’t always have the right answers because it can’t experience your full range of emotions and hasn’t lived your life. But its answers can help you learn more about yourself, Chopra says.
“I come up from a tradition where there’s a phrase,” he says. “Know that one thing, by knowing which, you know everything. And that one thing is yourself.”
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