The Midas Touch
What If He Asked Differently?
By Eric Swanson*
The story of King Midas is over 2,700 years old and has served as a cautionary tale ever since. In the original version Midas was very wealthy but not without virtue. After showing hospitality and care for one of the gods, Dionysus grants Midas one wish. King Midas already had great wealth but we get a little insight into human nature from the Bible…From Solomon himself, who writes: “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income” (Ecclesiastes 5:10). His wish simply revealed what was in his heart. So, when Dionysus grants Midas one wish, he wishes, “Let everything I touch turn to gold.” You know the story…Midas touches flowers and branches and is awed by their delicate beauty. He touches the furniture, columns, cups and utensils. All this work makes him hungry but to his in dismay, he finds that when he touches the bread, it turns to gold. When he goes to drink the wine, it becomes hardened metal. Wandering miserably into his rose garden, Midas saw his daughter, Marigold, running toward him. Before he could stop her, she threw her arms around him—and instantly became a golden statue. Midas collapsed in despair. Within days, he was starving, isolated, having transformed his daughter into a lifeless golden statue. His gift became his curse.
But what if Midas had asked differently? What if his wish had been: “Let everything I touch bring flourishing to others”? Imagine him walking through villages, touching barren fields that burst into harvest, mending broken tools, healing the sick. The same supernatural power, but directed outward…towards others instead of inward...to only benefit self? That version of Midas would have become a legend not of greed, but of generosity.
We stand at a similar crossroads with artificial intelligence.
Every day, we’re granted extraordinary powers: AI that drafts our emails, generates our reports, answers our questions, creates our content. And every day, we face Midas’ choice. Do we use these tools to advance only ourselves, and automate away our humanity? Or do we ask differently?
What if, instead of “How can AI make me more efficient?” we asked “How can AI help me help others live life as God intended…with full flourishing as an outcome?” What if we used AI to personalize encouragement and engagement rather than just getting our work done quicker and advancing our own purposes?
There’s an alternative ending to the Midas story, which gives us a little hope. Midas realizes the error of his way, and repents, and cries out to Dionysus. Dionysus has compassion and tells Midas to go wash in the river and then sprinkle the water on what he has turned to gold to restore it to its original state. He weeps with joy as he embraces his daughter Marigold.
The selfish use of AI makes us isolated and diminished. But AI wielded for human flourishing becomes something else entirely: a tool that amplifies compassion, extends our capacity to care, and multiplies our ability to lift others up. AI gives us the power of the golden touch. What are we wishing for? What can AI make possible for others?
(For more insights, check out the fantastic What Happened in AI This Month that Eric publishes monthly)