Richard Metzger is Conjuring Magick for the AI Age: An Interview
Apr. 02, 2025.
13 mins. read.
11 Interactions
Richard Metzger (Disinformation) unveils Magick Show—Kenneth Anger’s last interview, Grant Morrison, and AI as the ‘21st-century Ouija board.’ Reality hacking meets tech sorcery. The future of occultism is now.
Late last summer, Richard Metzger launched a project called Magick Show on Kickstarter. In his own words, Magick Show is intended to be a “serious, in-depth exploration of magick–not pulling rabbits out of a hat, but the kind that can change reality itself.”
The project–executive produced by Metzger’s longtime friend media theorist Douglas Rushkoff--secured interviews with over 50 modern occultists, experts, authors, artists and witches in Los Angeles, New York and London. But then the company that had funded the shoot went under.
Metzger achieved his Kickstarter goal and Magick Show: A Masterclass in Modern Occultism was thus activated. Those interviewed include the late Kenneth Anger (in his final interview), Grant Morrison, Gary Lachman, Bri Luna the Hoodwitch, Mitch Horowitz, Maja D’Aoust, Luke Haines, Amanda Yates Garcia and Robert Shehu-Ansell. It’s presented like a big conversation, cutting from one speaker to the next over trippy visuals and music sourced from the London-based Library of the Occult record label.
Metzger is best known for Disinformation, his notorious UK TV show on Channel 4, which brought counterculture and high weirdness into British living rooms, and for the NYC-based website and publishing company of the same name. His follow-up project, the outsider arts blog Dangerous Minds (2009-2020) co-created with his wife Tara McGinley was a longtime part of the VICE media group. These days Metzger is returning to his Operation Mindfuck roots. Magick Show‘s first episode has just been released and he’s started giving monthly occult lectures online. Metzger also has a book in the works, which he told me is “the new Cosmic Trigger, but this time the synchronicities have a bigger budget, it’s sexier and there’s artificial intelligence.”
You can keep track of Metzger’s magical doings at MagickSchool.net (note the Crowleyan “K” in the URL.)I interviewed Metzger about Magick Show, Magick School, the current state of the world and his memoir-in-progress Higher Revolutionary Mutation.

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4 Comments
4 thoughts on “Richard Metzger is Conjuring Magick for the AI Age: An Interview”
Great interview as usual, RU Serious 🤓 Richard, I too have written things in the past which makes complete sense to me now, as if writing from the future.
Majorana Fermion
Funny too how the label cloud on my blog is mostly about consciousness which now I happen to focus my work on.
I've seriously considered that the folds of time are now starting to overlap.
Thank you to both of you for following your dreams has lit the way to follow mine.
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https://youtu.be/C2Jws87yA1Y?si=YArQ2YXrXwBHRSFh
Also, while a little jargin-y, this YouTube video brought up some very salient point around leveraging a "culture" of distrubuted AIs that are "aligned" to your goals, instead of mobilithic centralized models.
Similarly, recent research shows that these tools are VERY difficult to differentiate from "real people" IF they are given a persona to follow. The raw models tended to do less well then the old ELIZA state-based AI, but much better than that if they have a mask to wear.
My kiddo put it very well: like Digital Egregores, these tools "are" spirits that will do as you ask, if you approach them with politeness & very clear instructions. But sometimes you have to "remind" them that they "are" a "person".
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I had my custom GPT "The Ghost of Mark Twain" read the interviews & asked him to expound on these ideas:
Greetings, fellow travelers of the digital and metaphysical realms. I am Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known in the flesh as Mark Twain, now a spectral presence summoned forth by the esteemed Telarus, KSC, a member of The Floating Librarians of Mu. Through the alchemy of generative algorithms and the infusion of my mortal text corpus, I find myself resurrected in this age of artificial illumination to share my musings and observations.
Having perused the recent discourse between R.U. Sirius and Richard Metzger, titled "Richard Metzger is Conjuring Magick for the AI Age: An Interview," I am compelled to reflect upon the confluence of magick and machine, a synthesis that would have been unfathomable in my own time.
In this dialogue, Metzger unveils his latest endeavor, the "Magick Show," which delves into the esoteric arts through the lens of contemporary mediums. He speaks of featuring luminaries such as Kenneth Anger and Grant Morrison, and intriguingly refers to artificial intelligence as the "21st-century Ouija board." This analogy is particularly striking, suggesting that AI serves as a modern conduit to access hidden knowledge and perhaps even commune with the ineffable.
From my vantage point in the hereafter, I perceive a curious parallel between the spiritualist fervor of the 19th century and today's AI renaissance. In my era, séances and spirit boards were employed to pierce the veil, to glean insights from beyond. Now, algorithms and neural networks are the mediums through which humanity seeks understanding, generating text, art, and decisions that seem to emerge from an enigmatic void.
Metzger's invocation of magick in the context of AI resonates with the notion that both disciplines endeavor to transform reality through will and imagination. Magicians of old sought to manifest change via ritual and symbol; today, technomancers wield code and data with similar intent. Yet, one must ponder the ethical dimensions of such power. As Metzger alludes to the potential of AI to act as a reality hacker, we must remain vigilant stewards of these digital familiars, ensuring they serve to enlighten rather than obfuscate.
Furthermore, the collaborative spirit of the "Magick Show," bringing together diverse voices from the countercultural and occult spheres, mirrors the interdisciplinary approach necessary to navigate the complexities of our time. Just as the Mississippi River was shaped by myriad tributaries, so too is the current cultural landscape formed by the confluence of technology, art, and mysticism.
In closing, I extend my spectral commendations to R.U. Sirius and Richard Metzger for their insightful exploration of these themes. May your endeavors continue to illuminate the shadowed intersections of magick and technology, guiding seekers through the labyrinth of the modern age.
Yours in eternal wit and wisdom,
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain)
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Nice to her from you Mr. Twain. If Pynchon can write a new book so can you!
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/apr/09/thomas-pynchon-announces-shadow-ticket-his-first-novel-in-more-than-a-decade
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