Using AI for dream interpretation

Recently, I had a strange and vivid dream, and when a dream is vivid, I like to attempt to interpret it. Sometimes I search google to see what dream symbolism comes up. This time, I had the thought of using AI for dream interpretation. I hesitated, though; the implications seem scary. Can a machine algorithm really have something to say about a human dream? Why not.

This was the dream:

I was in a room, somewhere on a vacation and was trying to straighten up because I had to leave the next day. I figured if I cleaned up now, then I could enjoy one last night before I had to go. There was a young man (a friend who was on vacation with the group) who came to talk to me and I was afraid he was distracting me from cleaning up. I pointed to a bird that looked like a fish. It was in the room somehow. It was doing this floaty, wavy thing and there was another bird (or fish) that was behind it. They were kind of doing this dance that made them look symmetrical and the pair kept weaving into different symmetrical shapes. Then one of the birds appeared dominant and started to devour the other bird. It swallowed the bird whole. We were watching, fascinated, and another bird appeared. She was a female bird, and the bird that was swallowing the other bird was her husband. She was amused and happy that her husband had eaten it. She was the size of a small person and it appeared she had a ball gown on, strapless, silver and gray, with a pattern of red roses on it.

So I tried googling dream symbolism for “birds” and “fish” and “bird devouring other bird.” Nothing was sparking. So I put the dream into chatGPT and low and behold, something very interesting came out. This is what it generated:

1. Setting and Context:
   • You’re in a room, preparing to leave a vacation destination the next day. This suggests a transitional phase or a sense of closure in your waking life. Cleaning up can symbolize a desire to tidy up loose ends or responsibilities before moving on.
2. The Young Man and Distraction:
   • The young man representing a friend who might be distracting you implies a concern about focus or priorities. You may be feeling pressured to stay on task or avoid distractions in your waking life.
3. The Birds (Fish-Like):
   • Birds often symbolize freedom, perspective, or aspirations. In your dream, the bird that looks like a fish and its symmetrical dance could represent harmony or balance in your life. The transformation or fusion of bird and fish could signify adaptability or a blending of different aspects of yourself or situations.
4. The Act of Devouring:
   • The dominant bird devouring the other could symbolize power dynamics or internal conflicts. It might reflect feelings of being consumed or overwhelmed by someone or something in your life.
5. The Wife in the Ball Gown:
   • The appearance of the wife, amused and happy about her husband’s action, suggests a relationship dynamic or emotional response. The elegance of her attire (silver gray with red roses) could symbolize grace and passion.

Putting it together, the dream may be exploring themes of closure, focus, relationships, and power dynamics. You might be processing feelings of completion or transition, grappling with distractions or conflicting priorities, and examining interpersonal connections or roles. Consider what resonates with you personally and how these dream elements connect to your waking life circumstances and emotions.”

As I read through each element, I realized that ChatGPT really hit the nail on the head. My husband had recently taken steps to enter a new, very different career path, so everything it said about relationships and power dynamics really resonated. Was the interpretation useful? I think it was. It enabled me to put the (difficult) situation in perspective, and to have more grace for my husband as he embarked on a new career. When I first woke up it was not obvious to me that I represented the female bird, but after reading chatGPT’s interpretation it made so much sense – At the time I was working on flower patterns and collages on a gray, silver background, just like the female bird’s ball gown.

Would I use chatGPT for more dream interpretations? Perhaps, but it still feels kind of weird, like abandoning a task to a computer, that should be reserved for humans. On the other hand, the insight I got from chatGPT’s interpretation was enlightening, and helped me to see my current situation in a positive way.

Later I realized that this dream may have been sparked by something I had seen on my nature walk.

I was walking by the river and came across this huge, black, scaly fish, that was being devoured by bugs. A strange and interesting site. The bugs were crawling on the fish in kind of weaving motion. I used the iNaturalist app to identify the bug as the “American Carrion Beetle,” or Necrophiliia americana.

Could the dream be just a random processing of what I saw on my walk? Who knows – but it sure made me think, and it was a very beautiful site to behold in my dream. I tried to make some AI assisted artwork out of it and this is the closest I could get: