Spirituality in AI 

Spiritual teachings that can be regurgitated by AI has been developed – this includes websites such as sibyls.ai, where they purport that it is an AI that can “transform your reality”,  where you can “Unlock personalized guidance, ancient wisdom and transformative tools to enrich life, deepen understanding and achieve goals.” This sounds very much like a personal mentor, teacher, and in Tibetan Buddhist terms, a Guru, who can guide you onto the path of greater awakening and insight about yourself.  

To test out if it really is as wise as it says it is, a question was asked in Sibyl: “How do I reach enlightenment?”. This question is at the core of every devoted Buddhist student who would like to know how to be free from samsara and gain awakening, becoming a Buddha themselves.  

Sibyl replied with a bunch of answers. At the very core of it, it said that “enlightenment is not a single event or a fleeting moment of clarity; it is a state of being filled with light, where one comprehends, knows, and functions from this light. It is a radiant condition of existence where you are in harmony with the truth of all things.”  

Perhaps Sibyl is right, or it could be wrong, but what’s clear here is that Sibyl cannot truly guide one on the path to enlightenment. It cannot be a Guru, a Buddhist teacher, who knows you intimately from the inside out. As Lama Thubten Yeshe, a renowned Tibetan Buddhist teacher said, “In order to develop peaceful tranquillity of mind, we have to employ a method that brings that result. Since we don’t know what such methods are or how to put them into practice, we need an experienced teacher to show us that reality.” The question is, can AI tell us about ourselves, to pull the rug out from under our feet, and to transform our minds through method and wisdom? Although AI has a vast library of knowledge, wisdom is not only derived from theoretical knowledge but also from experience, as said by Lama Yeshe above. 

AI reading minds  

Interestingly enough, there was recently a trend with ChatGPT where you ask it the question, “What is my curse?”, and through analysing your social media presence, it gives you an answer into your personality type and what is holding you back from growth. Some people received answers such as “You feel too deeply, and get wounded easily”. These are the questions that hook people. The next question that people ask is, “What’s my blessing?” and ChatGPT would answer the strengths that people have in them to grow out of their predicament. This could be answers such as, “You find the silver lining in everything, and is able to heal from the past easily.”  

All of this sounds as though AI is sentient and can read minds – a terrifying prospect for us if used in a harmful way. However, all of this is merely a game, a tactic used in analysing our online presence to know us on a ‘deeper’ level. Can it really transform your mind, growing your innate wisdom and compassion on the path to awakening? AI understands us mainly through language, in the words that we write. However, the mode of communication and conveyance of teachings by a real Guru is diverse and not limited to only words – many times it is even non-verbal, in gestures, expressions, and eye contact. 

A Buddhist Teacher Chatbot 

Roshibot, a chatbot that mimics the famous Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki Roshi who died in 1971, gives answers that almost seem as though they are from Suzuki Roshi himself. It was created by Jiryu Mark Rutschman-Byler, a Buddhist teacher himself, who wanted to find out more if chatbots could share true Dharma.  

However, he did not claim that this chatbot could replace the true authenticity of a teacher. This was an experiment in “co-creating Dharma meaning”, within this age of AI, in that it could “somehow touch something true”. What this truth is, is uncertain, but through the use of this chatbot, perhaps some truth can be glimpsed in a way that benefits the user.  

Thus, although AI cannot replace the raw, authentic and warm experience of having a teacher, it can perhaps inspire some wisdom within us that come from analysing the past teachers’ and their teachings.  

Conclusion  

In this age of degeneration of Buddhism, perhaps it is good to have more people interact with the Dharma, even if it’s through an AI chatbot that is on a superficial level. This is akin to taking the middle way – being able to integrate Dharma into our daily lives through current trends, instead of living under a rock that rejects the new in favour of the old and traditional.

However, the benefits of having a true and authentic teacher on the path is priceless and must not be taken lightly. All past enlightened and highly realised masters have successfully threaded the path of awakening only because of their own teachers, the Gurus who have guided each and every one of them with careful intention and wisdom.  

Interested to learn more about Buddhadharma from an authentic teacher? Come join us for a Dharma teaching at Thekchen Choling Singapore, a temple at Jalan Besar. The benefits of listening to a Dharma teaching are vast, as one gains merits from listening to teachings due to the act of planting the seeds of awakening. Dharma teachings also help us to gain wisdom and clarity, growing our compassion and virtuous mind.  

Singha Rinpoche regularly gives teachings in both English and Mandarin. Follow our telegram to keep up with updates! Click here to follow.