Is there any AI that teach the Dhamma?

Question

Are there any Artificial Intelligence applications that can teach the Dhamma that are already out there or are still being developed?

What can these AI apps do with Buddhism?

How can they facilitate practice?

What will AI in development possibly be able to do in relation to Buddhism in the future?

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Here are some examples of what I mean.

Could AI:

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...have a conversation with the Tipitaka as it's database?

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...understand all the arguments and controversies and debate certain topics?

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...help guide someone in their meditation.

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Metta.

Answer 1

This Wired article shows how AI has been used to enhance Google Search.

You can search the Tripitaka and other Buddhist articles, on Google Search by adding site:accesstoinsight.org or site:suttacentral.net/en.

For e.g. I Google-searched for:

did the buddha feel pain? site:accesstoinsight.org

And I got the first result below:

Nibbana as Living Experience / The Buddha and The Arahant: Two ...
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/desilva/wheel407.html
There is plenty of evidence to show that an arahant does feel sensations caused by physical changes. For instance, the Buddha felt acute pain when he was wounded by a stone splinter[19] and when he suffered from indigestion.[20] But he was able to withstand the painful sensations with mindfulness and clear ...

There are more tips on this page on refining Google web searches.

Answer 2

I am not aware of an AI application designed specifically to teach Dharma, but I think it is an excellent idea. As a practitioner of both Buddhism and data science, I would love to work on something that has the capacity to provide dharmic sentiments at exactly the moment they are necessary, tailored to meet each person's needs. Marketing is moving in that direction, so it is possible that similar systems could be trained on Dharma activity, rather than purchase activity. More to come in this area over the decades!

Answer 3

You should probably look into AI applications that teach any content in general to get your answer.

Some general applications in teaching are:

• letting the AI reorganize contents to optimize learning based on usage data (like duolingo does)
• training a chatbot that you can ask questions to (it will have somewhat limited capabilities, but could be useful nevertheless)

Now... if you want to dive specifically into the Dhamma, the uniqueness of a potential AI application would be to help you apply the Dhamma to your life, or also monitor your mental state during meditation practice.

But there’s a caveat here: this involvement of technology could easily become an obstacle or distraction rather than a tool.

I would suggest you forget about this and keep it simple: read about the dhamma and practice the dhamma every day.