One of my earliest experiments with ChatGPT, back when OpenAI had only introduced its most rudimentary model (which was a pleasantly surprising upgrade on how most humans perform basic tasks), was to task it with dream interpretation. Two years later, with the advent of the o-1 model, ChatGPT’s most sophisticated “thinker” yet, I have asked it to interpret another dream of mine.
ChatGPT (or Claude or Gemini or NotebookLM—you can pick your favourite, although each offers a distinct flavour) is a great entryway into dream interpretation, especially if you don’t know where to begin.
Let me illustrate with an example. Here’s a dream I had one morning, a couple of months ago.
The Dream
T and I are waiting for the correct school bus to take us home, uncertain which one it is. It’s very early in the morning, before sunrise. We’re located on the main road near my first home, where I grew up. At another point in the dream, T and I are hurriedly walking through a lush green football field at school, where several students are soaking up the winter sun. It is a bright and sunny daytime setting. I am holding onto T's arm, urging them to hurry, feeling a mix of relief at no longer needing to be on the school premises and embarrassment at being seen by the students.
Earlier in the dream, T and I are seated at a dining table—perhaps studying, or closely reading some texts authored by T. My mother enters the room to discuss a donation to be made the next day. T says they’re undecided about their plan because they pray to someone, but someone also prays to them, which unsettles me as T seems to have become a "god-person." My mother looks into the notebook that T and I have been studying and circles the number 49 that is scrawled on one of the pages.
As my mother was approaching us at the dining table, T asks me what time my parents typically go to bed. I reply there's no fixed time, aware that my mother is standing right behind us.
Back on the dark street in the morning, waiting for the school bus, unable to remember which bus to take, I ask a ‘press wala’ who is at work right beside me. (A ‘press wala’ in India is someone who provides ironing services for clothes, typically operating from a small street stall). The press wala assures us that Bus 31 will arrive shortly and that any bus will effectively take us where we need to go, which sounds strange but also reassuring. To get to the area where we’re waiting for the bus, we walked through the colony, passing my old house, which looks the same outwardly but feels abandoned by us.
T walks ahead, and I lose sight of them in the market street. I call them on the phone; they ask what I'm wearing, and I say "all white," realising later that I might have been in my school uniform (which was, incidentally, all white). I locate T, who is sitting by the press wala's stall.
We cross the road to wait for the bus. A yellow bus, named after a flower (Chrysanthemum, maybe?), arrives, indicating that it's from another school. I suggest that T and I stand farther apart from each other because we don't know exactly where our bus will stop.
Inside a brightly lit shop by the curb, Richard Hendricks (a character from the TV show Silicon Valley) is moving around on roller skates, talking about how his hair is big and smooth now, possibly with Gilfoyle (also a character from the same show) and others present. In that moment, I find myself reflecting on how everything changes over time.
I don't remember much after this point in the dream, but I know that the desperation to find the right bus home is a recurring theme in my dreams.
What ChatGPT’s o-1 model says about this dream:
Interpreting dreams is a highly personal and subjective process, but I can help you explore possible meanings based on common symbols and themes in your dream.
1. Waiting for the School Bus in Early Morning Darkness
Uncertainty and Transition: Waiting for the correct bus in the dark may symbolise feelings of uncertainty about your direction in life. It suggests you are at a crossroads, unsure of which path to take.
Connection to the Past: Being near your first home and waiting for a school bus might indicate a reflection on your childhood or formative years.
2. Walking Through the Sunlit School Football Field
Relief and Embarrassment: Your desire to hurry and mixed feelings suggest a longing to move past previous stages of life while still feeling self-conscious about how others perceive you.
Contrast Between Darkness and Light: Moving from darkness to a sunlit field could represent gaining clarity or insight after a period of confusion.
3. Studying with T and the Appearance of Your Mother
Seeking Knowledge or Understanding: Studying or reading texts with T indicates a pursuit of knowledge or deeper understanding, possibly about yourself or your relationships.
Mother Discussing a Donation: This might reflect familial expectations or obligations that are currently weighing on you.
K Becoming a "God-Person": Feeling unsettled by T's spiritual status could symbolise changes in your perception of them or shifts in your relationship dynamics.
4. The Number 49 Circled in the Notebook
Significance of Numbers: The number 49 could hold personal meaning—perhaps relating to an important date, age, or a symbolic number representing completion (as 7x7).
Focus on Details: Your mother's action of circling the number may emphasise the importance of paying attention to specific aspects of your life.
5. Concerns About Privacy and Awareness
T Asking About Your Parents' Bedtime: This could indicate a need for privacy or boundaries in your relationships.
Awareness of Your Mother's Presence: Feeling your mother's proximity might reflect subconscious awareness of familial influence or judgement.
6. Difficulty Finding the Right Bus and Consulting the Press Wala
Searching for Direction: The recurring theme of struggling to find the right bus home suggests an ongoing quest for direction or a sense of belonging.
Advice from the Press Wala: Being told that any bus will take you where you need to go may imply that multiple paths can lead to your desired destination, encouraging flexibility and openness to different opportunities.
7. Passing Your Old House
Nostalgia and Change: Seeing your old home appearing the same yet feeling abandoned may symbolise feelings of nostalgia and recognition of personal growth or change.
Letting Go: This might represent the process of moving on from past experiences that no longer serve you.
8. Losing and Reconnecting with T
Fear of Separation: Losing sight of T could reflect anxieties about losing important connections or relationships in your life.
Identity and Self-Perception: Realising you're wearing "all white" (your school uniform) might signify a return to innocence or a desire to reconnect with your authentic self.
9. Waiting for the Bus and the Arrival of the Yellow Bus
Missed Opportunities: The bus from another school named after a flower could represent opportunities that aren't aligned with your path.
Need for Space: Suggesting you and T stand farther apart may indicate a subconscious need for independence or personal space within relationships.
10. Reflection on Change with Richard Hendricks
Acknowledgment of Change: Seeing a character like Richard Hendricks discussing his appearance highlights themes of transformation and the passage of time.
Embracing Evolution: This scene might encourage acceptance of change as a constant in life.
11. Recurring Theme of Finding the Right Bus Home
Desire for Security: The continual search for the right bus home symbolises a deep-seated desire for safety, comfort, or a sense of "home" in your life.
Life's Journey: It may also represent your life's journey and the challenges in navigating it.
Overall Interpretation:
Your dream appears to revolve around themes of transition, personal growth, and the search for direction. The interplay between familiar settings (like your old home and school) and feelings of uncertainty suggests you're processing past experiences while navigating current life choices. Relationships with key figures like T and your mother highlight interpersonal dynamics that may be influencing your feelings and decisions.
Reflective Questions:
Are you currently facing significant decisions or changes in your life that leave you feeling uncertain?
Do you feel a pull between holding onto the past and moving forward into new experiences?
Are there aspects of your relationships with family or friends that are causing you to reassess boundaries or roles?
How do you perceive change—is it something that brings anxiety, excitement, or a mix of both?
Considering these questions might provide deeper insight into the subconscious messages your dream is conveying. Remember, the most meaningful interpretation will come from your own reflections on how these symbols relate to your personal experiences and emotions.
So, what can ChatGPT really do for you?
Let’s consider all the things ChatGPT, by its own admission, doesn’t know about this dream:
The history and nature of my relationship with “T.”
My relationship with my mother.
My connection to my first home, including why and how I moved away.
The context of me studying at the dining table during a particular phase of my life.
My feelings toward my schoolgoing years, the lingering dread and drudgery.
It also doesn’t know that I have recurring dreams in which I can’t locate the bus that takes me home. It doesn’t know how long I’ve had these dreams, when they started, and how often they recur. Nor does it know the real-life experiences behind these dreams—my almost-crippling fear of missing my bus stop on the way home.
But here’s the intriguing part, and really the point of this piece: What if, over time, I began sharing snippets of my life with ChatGPT—memories, thoughts about significant people, dreams, and more? Could it start piecing together my personal history? If I shared my dreams consistently, could it recognise recurring patterns and offer insights that I might be overlooking? At the very least, could it highlight blind spots I’ve missed? This idea fascinates me because “context” is what sets GenAI/ChatGPT apart. Wouldn’t this process be somewhat like meeting your therapist weekly, where you don’t have to start from scratch every time?
Think about how we once used Google. Each search was isolated, and Google had no memory of what came before—or at least it pretended not to. There was no thread to follow, no continuity. In contrast, ChatGPT allows you to pick up where you left off, and that continuity could change the game for dream interpretation. Dreams, after all, should not be interpreted in isolation. Even Freud or Jung, interpreting a single dream without broader context, would be limited in their insights.
At the moment, ChatGPT is an excellent starting point for dream analysis, but it’s not yet a substitute for a psychotherapist who engages with your personal history week after week, for years on end. Access to the nuances of your life—your emotions, experiences, incidents, and thoughts—is essential for understanding your dreams.
Even with the most advanced capabilities, AI is only as insightful as you are self-aware. Dream interpretation without context and the depth of one's life history isn't particularly fulfilling. Ultimately, dream analysis depends on two things:
The fidelity with which I record my dream.
A series of recorded dreams, tracked over time in a dream journal.
So, if you can record your dreams consistently and carefully, and then take them to ChatGPT (and swear it to secrecy, of course), you could find something significant to work with.
I'm embarking on my next experiment, and you can do this, too: I'll share about five of my dreams with ChatGPT, with as much context as possible, and see what insights emerge.
What are your thoughts on dream interpretation in the age of GenAI? Have you used ChatGPT to interpret a dream?
I haven’t, but this gives me so many ideas. I recently heard someone talk about how they used ChatGPT to make a very significant life decision. They entered information about themselves, their history of decision making, etc., and they followed what ChatGPT suggested.
As an aside, I also want to recommend the book Dream Wise.
This is an intriguing experiment. I wish there is an app that can record my dreams with voice/text and then keeps a track of all the context to help me understand them better. Even if isn't a substitute for a psychotherapist, it'd be a great start which could be shared with one to help expedite or give a more well-rounded insight even before the start. Looking forward to your next few interpretations.