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FACE TO FACE | EASTERN HORIZON 45

You mentioned the four brahma viharas are What’s next in your mind after this pioneering effort
incorporated into Norbu. Can you explain more in creating a Buddhist chatbot?
about this?
NORBU is be a lifelong journey. What we have
When we first began training NORBU, we didn’t just accomplished thus far is just the beginning.
upload a bunch of source data to populate its knowledge
base. That was only one part of the process. Since As AI lurches into the realm of Artificial General
LLMs have already mastered language processing and Intelligence (AGI), where technology attain human-like
linguistic nuances, the next thing we asked was, how can intelligence and the ability to self-teach in the not so
we train an AI to foster compassionate communication distant future, we need to prepare for NORBU’s next
grounded in Buddhist values and teachings? level of evolution. What would be challenging – but
doable – is to enable NORBU to be the first technology
It’s really pointless to just develop a clever Buddhist project to directly incorporate principles of Yogacara
bot. We wanted a “compassionate and mindful” one as philosophy into its operational framework.
well. First of all, we envisioned NORBU as a kalyana

mitra. Therefore, we had to attune the technological The Yogacara school’s Citta-matra (Mind-Only) doctrine
capabilities of the LLM within the framework of posits that all phenomena are manifestations of the
Buddhist conversation, which is deeply rooted in tones mind. For AI, this principle can be interpreted as the
of empathy, compassion, and non-violence. NORBU was need to model human cognition by interpreting and
then continuously trained and fine-tuned to recognize generating responses based on subjective experiences.
and generate the subtle language cues that convey We will explore concepts such as Alaya-vijñāna
kindness, patience, and understanding, ensuring (storehouse consciousness, a repository of all past
that every response is in line with compassionate experiences and knowledge) with Deep Learning, and
conversational tone. Āśraya-parāvṛtti (transformation of the basis, the ability
to adapt and initiate a profound shift in the underlying
To do this, we apply the qualities of the four brahma- consciousness) with Adaptability.
viharas (positive emotions) into training NORBU’s
conversational framework, which are: Through the research and development efforts of these
Yogacara principles, we aim to enable NORBU achieve
• Loving-kindness (Metta) - The language and significant improvements in its capability to understand

conversations framed to promote unconditional and respond to complex queries with depth and context.
goodwill and friendliness. This approach ensures that NORBU will not just a
• Compassion (Karuna) - Emphasizing empathetic passive information provider but an active participant
concern for others’ suffering. in the user’s spiritual journey, offering support and
• Altruistic Joy (Mudita) - Rejoicing in others’ insight grounded in both advanced technology and
happiness and successes. profound spiritual wisdom.
• Equanimity (Upekkha) - Maintaining a calm,
balanced, unbiased view in all situations. There is still much to do.

Training content for NORBU included extensive Please feel free to access Norbu as follows: https//
descriptions and examples of these qualities, ensuring norbu-ai.org EH
that the AI’s conversational tone is consistently caring,
empathetic, and patient. This non-violent communication
style starkly contrasts with the often aggressive and
hostile language found on many digital platforms.