'Small decisions have long tails' – I asked ChatGPT for my horoscope, and what it told me was surprisingly grounding

I don’t believe in astrology. I never have, despite growing up in the golden era of glossy horoscope pages tucked beside celebrity gossip in magazines, and long before apps started charging for full-moon rituals. My skepticism isn't especially hostile; it's just that I don't believe the positions of planets at my birth have much to tell me about my life or personality.

But I do believe in storytelling, and I’m fascinated by how AI systems are learning to mimic the voices of human attempts at wisdom, regardless of how wise they might be. So with the year beginning, I was curious as to how ChatGPT, which has been trained on the internet’s collective cosmic musings, would write a horoscope for me – a personalized, year-ahead breakdown based on my actual birth date.

This was more a test of tone, context, and meaning ...