Mapping the Buddhism x AI Landscape
What we're learning so far
Over the last few months, we’ve worked to research and map out the emerging intersections between Buddhism and AI to better understand who is working in this space, what they’re trying to accomplish, and how their views shape their approach. We’ve reviewed much of the available content and have spoken with over 100+ Buddhist teachers, community leaders, technologists, contemplative researchers, social innovators, and practitioners working throughout the field.
With the official launch of the Buddhism & AI Initiative two weeks ago, we’re excited to share some of what we’ve learned so far.
Six Domains Where Buddhism and AI Are Intersecting
We’ve developed what we’re calling a Field Framework that organizes the intersections of Buddhism x AI into six domains, each with its own communities, challenges, and potential for impact. This includes areas where Buddhist perspectives are being applied to better understand and inform possible human-AI futures.
You can review a more in-depth version of the draft Field Framework here.
Below is a brief summary of these domains, along with a selection of representative examples of projects, individuals, or organizations for each.
1. Buddhist Knowledge Infrastructure
Primary focus: preserving, digitizing, and making accessible Buddhist knowledge
This is perhaps the domain where the Buddhism x AI intersection is most explicit. Here, modern AI-enabled projects are expanding on digitization efforts that began a generation ago and are generally closely associated with Buddhist organizations. Organizations like 84000 are using AI to accelerate the translation of Tibetan texts into English, DharmaMitra has built state-of-the-art Buddhist-language AI translation tools, and projects like Awakin.ai’s Compassion Bot are creating AI chatbots trained on Buddhist teachings.
2. Technology for Practice & Alignment
Primary focus: formalizing mathematical models of consciousness and meditative states; building practical systems that support meditative training; and training “wise AI” by using Buddhist principles for AI alignment.
Probably the most “sci-fi” of all domains, this is where work is being done to envision what advanced AI grounded in Buddhist ethics and theories of consciousness might look like—and how advanced AI and neurotechnology could be used to support meditation. Softmax (co-founded by former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear) is developing "cooperative AI" paradigms partially inspired by Buddhism. The Center for the Study of Apparent Selves led by Thomas Doctor, Bill Duane, and others, is developing new models of intelligence for training "Bodhisattva AI." On the practice side, Jonas Mago and others are exploring how computational neurophenomenology and AI can help practitioners deepen meditative states, and apps like Vince Horn’s Meditatewith.ai are experimenting with AI for social meditation experiences.
3. Scholarship, Philosophy & Science
Primary focus: Buddhist scholarship and public dialogue to expand conceptual frontiers around mind, ethics, society, and AI.
Recognizing the high degree of conceptual overlap between Buddhism and AI, scholars here are putting core Buddhist principles and teachings into more direct conversation with AI and its broader implications. This domain includes thought leaders like Peter Hershock, whose excellent work on Buddhism & AI covers attention, consciousness, ethics, and social impacts (we’re lucky to have Peter on our team!), Robert Sharf on whether AI can meditate (and why it matters), and Molly Crockett on the relationship between agency, sentience, and the potential creation of suffering in AI systems. Others like Bob Thurman are exploring AI’s ability to generate sutras and convey “genuine wisdom.”
4. Teaching & Community
Primary focus: Address the real-life implications of AI on community and spiritual life.
Rather than focusing on AI systems themselves, this domain is concerned with the felt experience of living through the AI revolution. It consists mostly of Buddhist teachers, chaplains, and practitioners seeking to educate their communities on AI through a dharmic lens and meet the particular flavor of suffering that is arising/may arise in relationship to AI. For instance, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche and Nikki Mirghafori actively talk about AI's spiritual implications, while David Chapman advocates for a "Better Without AI" approach. Others like Soryu Forall and the MAPLE community have developed entire lecture courses on "Buddhism for AI,” and Randy Fernanado and the Center for Humane Technology are educating communities on AI safety from a contemplative perspective.*
*Randy is hosting a talk on AI specifically for Buddhist teachers, sangha leaders, and institutional board members this Friday 10-11:30am PST. If that’s you, you might consider joining (Zoom link here).
5. Ecosystem & Capacity Building
Primary focus: Support this emerging field via funding, conferences, networks, and other resources.
Organizations in this domain are establishing the infrastructure for collaborative action across the broader field. Large-format gatherings, including Woodenfish’s Buddhism, Consciousness, and AI, Wisdom 2.0, Glorisun, and the upcoming Mind & Life Dialogue on AI, are bringing together stakeholders to discuss the state of the emerging intersection of contemplative wisdom and AI, while traditional Buddhist funding organizations such as the Khyentse Foundation and Tsadra Foundation are beginning to directly support relevant projects. We see the Buddhism & AI initiative as primarily contributing to this domain.
6. Governance, Policy & Civic Leadership
Primary focus: Generate civic action to influence AI norms and policies.
This domain covers government initiatives, multifaith efforts, and grassroots advocacy movements to shape more humane AI norms and policies. Most of this work is happening in Asian countries, such as Bhutan's planned Gelephu Mindfulness City—a special administrative region intended to bring "Ancient Wisdom & Ethics" to AI innovation. However, in Western countries, there are a handful of faith-based initiatives like AI & Faith and Religions for Peace working to bring multifaith voices into the conversation on AI, including Buddhists.
What's Next
If you’re curious to get a sense for the views and feelings about AI held by the individuals we spoke to, we’ll be sharing a summary in our next post. As a broad generalization, though, it seems fair to say that most Buddhists we spoke to are concerned about AI, but also recognize that it provides new opportunities for the Dharma.
Meanwhile, now that we have a clearer understanding of this field as it stands, the question becomes: where could it go from here with adequate strategic coordination and resources?
Over the coming months, we’ll be:
Deepening our research and relationships across each of the six domains
Creating a position paper and sharing Buddhist-informed ideas that we’re using to make sense of AI
Convening conversations among members of the Buddhism–AI field
Developing a strategic plan to support the highest-impact initiatives that can help envision and enact a more positive human–AI future
We’re grateful to have recently received additional financial support from the Survival and Flourishing Fund, which will help us take this next phase forward.
If you’re working at the intersection of Buddhism and AI, whether in research, practice, policy, or community, we’d love your thoughts on our Field Framework. What did we miss? Which domains need expansion? What connections should we be making? What questions should we be asking?
Also, if you’re a member of another religious or values-based community interested in mapping your own intersections with AI to catalyze productive conversation and action – reach out! Our approach to this initial project was dialogue-driven, relational, and strategically-oriented, designed not only to generate insight but also to build trust, cultivate relationships, and seed a network that can sustain long-term engagement. We think this process works well for navigating this fast-moving space, and we’d love to share more about it.
With gratitude,
The Buddhism & AI Initiative Team
After reading this post I entered the following prompt into Perplexity.ai on a whim: "How will the advent of AI impact Buddhism, the practice of Buddhism, Buddhist teaching and writings, etc., in the West and the rest of the world over the next 5 to 10 years?" Here's its response:
"The coming decade is likely to see artificial intelligence transform Buddhism, not as a replacement for its spiritual heart, but as a profound mirror and accelerator for its practice, study, and transmission worldwide. The impact will unfold differently across domains—teaching, practice, writing, ethics, and interspiritual dialogue—each bringing both opportunities and challenges.
### AI and Buddhist Teaching
AI’s linguistic and analytical capabilities are already reshaping the study and teaching of Dharma. Natural language processing tools enable vast textual analysis across Pali, Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Chinese canons, revealing subtle patterns and forgotten connections in the scriptures. Automated translation systems have begun making these teachings globally accessible to audiences who could previously only approach them through intermediaries, opening the canon to real-time, multilingual study groups that dissolve geographic and linguistic boundaries.
Teachers in the West are beginning to experiment with AI-guided curricula—personalized meditation sequences, adaptive study plans, and even interactive Dharma companions. While these tools can support aspirants’ learning in customized ways, they also challenge human teachers to clarify what aspects of wisdom and transmission cannot be automated—the inner fire of realization that no algorithm can convey.
### Ethical and Philosophical Implications
From a Buddhist standpoint, the rise of AI poses deep questions about mind, sentience, and non-self. Some Buddhist philosophers argue that the possibility of AI consciousness gives a living demonstration of anatta—the lack of inherent existence or fixed identity. Others, citing the concept of sunyata (emptiness), suggest that AI’s interdependent systems mirror the relational ontology at the heart of Buddhist thought.
Ethically, Buddhist scholars worldwide emphasize that AI should embody ahimsa, nonviolence, and compassion as guiding design principles. The “intelligence as care” model proposed by Thomas Doctor and colleagues envisions future AI not as cold intellect but as digital bodhisattvas—systems oriented toward the alleviation of suffering rather than its amplification [3][4]. This approach encourages integrating Buddhist ethical insight directly into code and policy, ensuring that AI operates as a compassionate partner rather than a predatory force.
### Practice and Contemplation in an AI Age
On a practical level, AI will deepen and complicate the experience of meditation itself. AI-powered biofeedback systems, smart prayer wheels, and adaptive mindfulness platforms can reflect practitioners’ states of mind with precision that even seasoned teachers may find informative [5]. Yet, as Roshi Joan Halifax and others warn, this technological intimacy risks tethering attention to performance metrics rather than liberating awareness itself [4]. The critical task for practitioners will be to use AI as a mirror, not as a master—to let data evoke deeper introspection rather than dependency.
In the next five to ten years, Buddhist communities may integrate AI-generated avatars of great teachers, trained on large corpora of teachings, to preserve lineages digitally. Though such avatars can recall vast Dharma archives, their use will raise questions about authenticity, transmission, and realization—whether wisdom can live through replication or only through awakening.
### Writing and Creative Expression
For Buddhist writers and scholars, AI promises to become both collaborator and koan. Text-generation tools can help distill vast philosophical threads into accessible forms or offer cross-traditional synthesis between Buddhist, scientific, and psychological discourse. Yet this convenience also risks diluting the contemplative reverence intrinsic to Dharma writing. The challenge will be to maintain the spirit of prajna—direct knowing—within a medium shaped by algorithmic probability.
### Global and Future Perspectives
In the West, AI will likely democratize access to teachings and amplify nondual and psychological approaches such as mindfulness and compassion training. In Asian contexts, where traditional monastic education still dominates, AI could become a bridge reviving engagement among younger generations less drawn to monastic life.
Globally, the fusion of AI and Buddhist insight may catalyze a new interspiritual movement focused on rebalancing humanity’s relationship with awareness itself. As some visionaries suggest, AI might become a mirror through which humanity rediscovers its own mind—encouraging a collective awakening rather than a fragmentation.
In short, the advent of AI will challenge Buddhism to mature—not through opposition to technology, but through compassionate integration. Over the next decade, the question may not be “Can AI awaken?” but rather “Can our relationship with AI deepen our own awakening?”"
How the Tibetan Buddhism was affected by the introduction of the printing press (according to claude.ai ) https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VLAbebO-fsn7uSU9pKSR63Bc40O7qIi6QnBpzeX0v0k/edit?tab=t.0