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Creativity and Summoning AI Like a Shaman

9/07/2025

Pete Winn, Andy David, Gav Feilding

Pete and Andy welcome Gav Fielding, digital marketing specialist and artist, exploring AI's creative potential and the art of prompt engineering as a form of "digital shamanism."

The conversation delves into how traditional creative processes translate to AI collaboration, examining creativity as a "volumes game," the importance of "set and setting" for AI interactions, and how proper context engineering resembles ancient summoning practices for birthing digital entities with the right incantations.

Description

In Episode 13 of The Good Stuff podcast, hosts Pete and Andy welcome guest, Gav Feilding, Brand and AI transformation specialist and explore AI's creative potential, the art of prompt engineering as digital shamanism, and how traditional creative processes translate to the age of artificial intelligence.  


Key Discussion Points AI Development Evolution (00:00-08:22)

  • Cursor IDE billing changes and the shift from "slow coding" to "vibe coding"

  • Return to "super fast waterfall" development with AI agents

  • Context window limitations: quality over quantity in AI prompting

Human vs AI Context (08:22-15:55)

  • The challenge of replicating human contextual understanding in AI

  • Multi-personality aspects of identity and AI agent development

  • "Things you know" vs "things you are" in AI persona creation

  • Vision and sensory data as the next AI frontier

Learning Transformation (15:55-24:12)

  • Khan Academy's personalized AI math tutoring

  • Tailoring communication styles to individual learning preferences

  • ChatGPT's tutor mode: guided discovery vs direct answers

  • Voice interface challenges in natural conversation

Creativity as Process (24:12-35:20)

  • Creativity as a "volumes game" - generating many ideas to find exceptional ones

  • AI raises both floor and ceiling of creative output

  • The "doorman fallacy" - losing tacit knowledge through naive automation

  • Personal AI tools outperform organizational implementations

Purpose in an Abundant World (35:20-46:48)

  • When everything is automated, purpose becomes the key differentiator

  • Brand strategy increasingly important with commoditized intelligence

  • Balancing automation benefits against loss of meaning

  • David Graeber's "bullshit jobs" in AI context

Creative Problem-Solving (46:48-55:06)

  • Engineering vs creative solutions (Rory Sutherland's elevator mirror example)

  • Market research challenges: people can't articulate true needs

  • The difference between mechanical and psychological solutions

Decentralization & Community (55:06-58:14)

  • AI enabling hyper-localization and community-based solutions

  • Shift from centralized to location-specific innovation

  • Evolution toward gig economy with community co-working hubs

Shamanic Prompt Engineering (58:14-1:18:43)

  • Prompt engineering as modern "shamanism" - summoning digital entities

  • "Set and setting" for AI interactions, borrowed from psychedelic methodology

  • Multi-agent conversations for enhanced ideation

  • Tools like Mind Hive for collaborative AI workshops

Creative Methodology (1:18:43-1:27:54)

  • Hemingway's "write drunk, edit sober" framework

  • Separating ideation from judgment in creative processes

  • Underwater brainstorming for forced creative breakthroughs

  • Divergent vs convergent thinking states

Digital Summoning (1:27:54-1:39:34)

  • AI requiring careful "birthing" and context setting

  • Traditional shamanic practices informing modern AI interaction

  • The art of "enchanting" AI with proper incantations

Standout Quotes "Creativity is just a volumes game. You have more ideas. Some of them are good, some of them are bad, and you filter them all out." 


"It's almost like layering in pre-modern medicine... the clash between those applied to AI now versus current life versus future AI life." 


"We're all shamaning this thing. And we're just giving it a bad trip." 


"There probably is like a way of... maybe it's all in occult books around summoning demons. It's actually just got mis-translated over the years. And it was actually all about context engineering." 


Looking AheadThe conversation reveals creativity and AI interaction as fundamentally about understanding process, context, and the art of digital summoning. Gav's creative industry perspective illuminates how traditional creative methodologies translate to AI collaboration, suggesting new frameworks for human-AI creative partnerships.

Check out more episodes

The Good Stuff is a low-fi dialogue with Pete Winn and Andy David.

 

Each week, we share our everyday experiences working with artificial intelligence and how it's fundamentally changing the rules of work and business, the economy, entrepreneurship, and human potential. We explore the ripple effects, unintended consequences, and emerging opportunities as AI transforms how we work and create, diving into the tools and technology we're using each week.

Expect a mix of chats out of the back of a van at the beach, walking interviews and general use of dialectic and discussion with insightful guests that lift the lid on complex topics. Chilled out, minimal jargon, authentic.

 

Connect With Us:

Email: info@otherstuff.studio

Pete: https://x.com/Pete_Winn

Andy: https://x.com/andymdavid

Transcript

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