The new Aztec Mystery Magic app for iPhone and iPad released Thursday dresses up artificial intelligence (AI) chat in a cool Aztec costume.
It doesn’t do a whole lot, but it looks cool and it’s free. It answers questions, makes predictions and offers ancient Aztec riddles you can solve to get amulets. And hey, you might learn something.
Aztec Magic Mystery app
The free Aztec Magic Mystery app is essentially another iteration of AI chat. But this one is dressed up in ancient Aztec themes, with cool graphics and more.
Here’s the app basic description:
Welcome to the world of Aztec Mystery Magic, where the history and magic of the ancient Aztecs live on your iOS device! This application invites you to immerse yourself in the mysterious world of ancient civilizations. Ask Aztec any questions — be it about the past, present or even the future. Receive unique and personalized answers based on your background for the test you choose. Choose your own avatar, fill out your profile and you can completely immerse yourself in the ancient world.
Optional profile
The first thing the app asks of you is to fill out a profile, which is optional. First you select an avatar, like a warrior, an owl or a wolf. Then it wants your name, gender, date of birth, eye color, hair color and height, saying those characteristics may help with its predictions, using terms like “astrological prediction” and “divination.” But you can skip that whole section or any question in it (or answer with fiction, for that matter). As the privacy section notes, the information may go to advertisers.
Basic AI chat
As an AI chat, Aztec Magic Mystery seems typical. When I asked “Who were the Maya?” it responded instantly with a solid encyclopedia entry. When I asked what it could predict, it sounded like chatGPT, giving examples and caveats about the nature of prediction, depending upon available data, inherent uncertainty, etc. When I asked about how times Donald Trump will be president of the United States, it noted its September 2021 knowledge “cutoff” date, offered Constitutional term limits and noted rule changes could result in different possibilities.
So it’s an AI chat. You can ask it anything. The more specific your questions are, the more likely you’ll get useful answers. I asked about whether the Aztecs practiced science and got a long, detailed answer about Aztec advances in astronomy, agriculture, medicine and engineering, with caveats about ancient knowledge and methodology, of course.
Ancient Aztec riddles (‘Puzzle’ section)
The app also includes a Puzzle section where you can solve an ancient Aztec riddle each day. Here the first one: “At dawn resilient, silent at noon, in the evening recounts all the day’s events. What am I?” (Moon, Clock or Mirror). A correct answer (Clock) opens the next question. Wrong answers result in a Back button and you can keep guessing.
When you solve a riddle, you get an amulet that “will infuse magic into your life’s journey.” Well, sure. After blundering to correct answers for the first three riddles, I saw amulets of wisdom, gratitude and focus in my Amulet section, each with a nifty graphic and a description. And I learned a bit out the Maya and the Aztecs!
Price: Free
Where to download: App Store
