Hello,
Today I’d like to introduce you to a new project within Speaking Body: a podcast called Artificial Analysis.
It grew out of a realization that I think many psychoanalysts will soon have to grapple with: AI is no longer something happening “out there.” It has already begun to enter the analytic situation.
Rather than trying to cover every aspect of AI, each episode will be organized around two orienting questions:
How might the continued use (and growth of use) of AI affect the clinical practice of psychoanalysis?
How might the continued use (and growth of use) of AI affect the transmission of psychoanalytic knowledge?
These questions will serve as the thread running through the podcast.
My expectation is that each conversation will wander into unexpected territory, but I’d like to keep returning to these two concerns as a way of orienting the discussion.
In this pilot episode, I describe two surprising clinical encounters in which analysands shared details of their psychoanalytic sessions with large language models (ChatGPT and Claude). The models responded using Lacanian concepts, and the analysands then brought those AI-generated responses back into their sessions with me.
I also talk about discussing these experiences with trusted friends and colleagues at a Knotting Seminar, where they sparked hours of discussion about both the possibilities and the risks that AI may introduce into psychoanalytic work.
What the project is and what it is not:
Artificial Analysis isn’t a podcast about predicting the future. It’s a podcast about thinking carefully about a future that has already begun.
I’m not looking for authoritative pronouncements about what AI will or won’t do. Instead, I hope to create a space where analysts, scholars, and other thoughtful people can engage in considered speculation about where these developments might lead, and how psychoanalysis might respond.
My hope is that this first episode raises more questions than it answers—and that you’ll want to hear more as these two questions move us into our next episode.
My plan is to release a new episode about once a month. If inspiration (and time!) allow, there may occasionally be more.
As always, I’d love to hear what you think. If this episode raises questions, criticisms, concerns, or possibilities that I haven’t considered, I hope you’ll get in touch. And if there are topics you’d like me to explore or people you’d like me to interview, I’d love to hear those suggestions too.
Table of Contents
00:00 A Patient Uses ChatGPT
01:37 Claude and Lacanian Concepts
02:43 Conference Sparks Bigger Idea
04:59 Launching Artificial Analysis
05:28 Two Guiding Questions
07:24 Subscribe and Get in Touch
08:00 Closing Goodbye
