Machine Totems: Hughes' Shamanic Poetics in the Age of AI
RESEARCH REVIEW International Journal of Multidisciplinary July 12, 2025 DOI: 10.31305/rrijm.2025.v10.n7.023 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Key points | Argues that Ted Hughes's shamanic animal totems and ritualistic verse anticipate contemporary tensions between organic consciousness and machine intelligence, and that Hughes's fractured mythologies parallel the 'hallucinations' of AI text generators as both navigate liminal states. Proposes Hughes's work as a hermeneutic for understanding AI's mythopoeic impulses, bridging the ecological uncanny with posthumanist theory and cognitive science. |
Abstract
This paper examines Ted Hughes’ shamanic poetics through the lens of artificial intelligence, arguing that his animal totems (Crow, Pike, The Jaguar) anticipate contemporary tensions between organic consciousness and machine intelligence. By analyzing Hughes’ ritualistic verse structures alongside AI text generators’ ‘hallucinations,’ the study reveals how both systems employ fractured mythologies to navigate liminal states of being. The paper bridges Hughes’ ecological uncanny with posthumanist theory (Haraway, Hayles) and cognitive science (Hoffman’s interface theory), proposing his work as a vital hermeneutic for understanding AI’s mythopoeic impulses.