There might be a strong link between the impact of psychedelics on perception and how algorithms within neural networks generate patterns and create images. Psychedelics could disrupt the coordination between brain regions, increasing disorder in the visual system and leading the brain to release a flood of images as it tries to anticipate and organize its rapidly shifting perceptions into more stable forms. Similarly, AI excels at crafting patterns (referred to as "embeddings" in technical terms) from extensive datasets, employing a form of associative coherence that, while not strictly rational, mirrors much of human thought and artistic creativity.

These associative patterns are deeply characteristic of visionary states, the diverse range of Jungian archetypes, and the symbolic connections prevalent in magical beliefs and practices. This connection could be profoundly significant. In a recent profile in The New Yorker, focusing on artist and musician Holly Herndon, known for her groundbreaking work in AI alongside partner Matt Dryhurst, the article starts with the couple's encounter with a Virgin Mary shrine in Spain. This shrine showcased Mary iconography from various cultures: "a faceless, abstract stone carving from Cameroon; a pale, blue-eyed statuette from Ecuador; a Black Mary from Senegal, dressed in an ornate gown of blue and gold." Despite their diversity, these representations all embody Mary, representing facets of her specific placement within both the realm of data space and archetypal imagery.