Fortune tellers didn't see it coming ... but AI is muscling in

When Whan consulted her new fortune teller about her relationship with her boyfriend, she was told that one half of the couple tended to be sulky, while the other would over-analyse things. The fortune teller recommended that they try to be more open with each other.

- By Rebecca Ratcliffe

But the advice didn’t come from a human - it came from ChatGPT.

In Thailand, a country with a rich tradition of fortune telling, Whan, 28, is among a growing number of young people turning to ChatGPT for answers about their future. On social media, users share advice on how to upload pictures of their palms for palm readings, and of their birth charts, which show the positions of the planets at the time of their birth.

Usually, if Whan wants to see her fortune teller, she needs to book months in advance - and pay 599 baht ($18) for a one-hour session. So, when she saw comments on social media praising the accuracy of ChatGPT’s readings, she decided to give it a try.

Satisfied with her first birth chart reading, Whan, who asked to use only her nickname, later uploaded a picture of her face for a face reading, and asked ChatGPT to analyse her compatibility with her boyfriend.

The importance of fortune tellers - called “Mor Doo,” meaning “doctors who see” - dates back centuries in Thailand, where culture is shaped by astrology and other forms of divination.