Spoiler alert: It can’t.
Still, people are turning to AI for astro answers. Cue: misinformation spirals, identity crises, and collective freak-outs. Before you question everything you thought you knew about astrology or your chart, let’s talk about how often ChatGPT and other generative AI chatbots get astrology wrong.
Yes, even if you’re using these tools to learn more about your natal placements or transits, there’s a good chance you’re reading information that has nothing to do with you at all. So don’t worry — your rising sign didn’t change overnight, and you don’t need to get that “Aquarius 4ever” tattoo removed.
Let’s break down exactly what’s going on with the robo-astrologers — and what to do if you want real-deal, reliable astro intel.
What is AI astrology, and where does it go wrong?
When presented with astrology questions, AI draws from enormous data sets to predict the most logical responses — and any publicly available content on the internet is fair game. That means random Reddit threads, horoscopes from the year 2000, books by your favorite authors, and your astro-skeptical aunt’s social media posts could all be in the mix. AI engineers are continually training these bots by feeding them more and more material (usually without crediting their sources or compensating the original creators), but because a machine is trying to process this tidal wave of information as fast as possible, it easily makes mistakes. AI bots have a habit of not just messing up but making things up entirely.
At any time and without any warning, a bot can spit out false info (a well-documented phenomenon called “hallucinating”). When these errors are sprinkled in among the facts, it can be hard to tell what’s what. For example, you could be reading a convincing paragraph about your Sun in Aries and then come to a sentence about your Moon in Capricorn — but you know your Moon is actually in Scorpio. Yikes. If you’re not already familiar with your chart, it can be easy to miss these slip-ups and get either misled or confused.
The risks of AI astrology
Astrology is a complex art form — not a paint-by-numbers project. To understand how all the elements of your birth chart work together and make up a unique picture of who you are, you need a deep awareness of the details. This skill is what can elevate a generic overview into a hyper-specific “omg I’ve been read” moment, as you probably know if you’ve ever discussed your chart with a real astrologer.
Why can’t AI replicate that skill? For one thing, practicing Hellenistic astrology — what we use at CHANI — requires studying ancient techniques that can’t all be found online. Much of this astro wisdom is only accessible in printed books and taught by human experts. At the same time, there are many other schools of astrology with radically different perspectives. One tradition isn’t more “correct” than another, but when bits and pieces are taken out of context, they become a lot less meaningful. An AI bot can’t distinguish between these astrological approaches, so it tends to stitch together a Frankenstein interpretation that doesn’t make much sense.
Just because something isn’t human doesn’t mean it’s 100% neutral either. Because AI is ultimately built, programmed, and fine-tuned by real people, cultural prejudices and implicit biases influence what the algorithm offers you. If a bot is engineered by someone with a certain worldview, that’s going to skew the information you receive. So ChatGPT may tell you with confidence that astrology is “pseudoscience” or present information through that lens, whether you agree with that take or not, because that reflects the data it’s been given.
Why you should get your astro intel from real astrologers
Astrology is an ancient tradition that requires wisdom, intuition, and focused attention to get right. Only people have the ability to understand and interpret all the intricate layers of your chart, and AI sources are sus (see above). So if you want an accurate read of your purpose and potential, we suggest getting your astrological insights from real people. And yes, CHANI counts — every word of the content on our website and in the CHANI app is written and recorded by real-life astrologers, never by computers. Astrology is about being witnessed in all our humanity, and that requires a human touch.
Where to find reliable astro insights
If you want to deepen your relationship with and understanding of astrology, here are our top tips:
- Seek out astrologers who can interpret your chart thoroughly, with care, focus, and wisdom. People will pick up on the exact details of your destiny. An algorithm could never.
- Read books or attend workshops by reputable astrologers and build your knowledge with vetted info.
- Learn more about your chart and discover what the latest astrology means for you in the CHANI app.
