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Tenzin Tsepal: Artificial intelligence is touted as having What advice would you give to individuals who
seemingly unlimited potential to benefit humanity want to cultivate wisdom and compassion while
in areas of communication, business, education, balancing the demands of their professional and
healthcare, human services, transportation, science and digital lives?
research. Yet just as we could not have imagined how
computers would transform our world, no one has any Aggacitta: I would think that mindfulness supported by
idea how AI will actually transform our lives. right view and persistent effort could be the key to this
predicament.
AI is not just another invention; it’s an infinite inventor
itself. Programmed algorithms interact with new data, • Practice introspective mindfulness to experientially
producing complicated “neural networks” similar understand how desires are the cause of mental
to a human brain, executing functions in a way that and physical suffering.
programmers don’t yet fully understand. • Cut down as many unnecessary desires as
possible and prioritize essential ones. Remember
Millions of people are using AI interfaces. Large that making money is only a means for fulfilling
language models (LLMs) are popular for creating essential desires, not an end in itself.
original text, summarizing large amounts of text and • Practice mindfulness of the 5 senses in daily
creating computer programs. AI image generators can activities whenever possible to compose the mind
produce artistic quality results from a wide range of text and reduce stress.
prompts. Artificially intelligent robots serve as elder
care companions and tutors for children. Discipline oneself by establishing “curfew” times for
digital indulgence
However, research shows that even the best performing
LLMs don’t have a coherent understanding of the world Ming Yi: To cultivate wisdom and compassion while
and its rules and still fail unexpectedly with tasks. Do balancing professional and digital demands, individuals
we really want AI to supersede human creativity and can adopt several Buddhist-inspired practices. Start
language skills? At what cost do we rely on robots for with mindfulness meditation to enhance awareness
emotional support or children’s character development? and remain present, helping to mitigate distractions.
Some say AI will replace countless jobs, others say Establish digital boundaries, scheduling regular breaks
it will create jobs. And don’t forget: AI requires to reconnect with yourself and your surroundings.
exponential amounts of energy. Embrace intentionality in your actions, reflecting on
how your work impacts others.
Let’s not overestimate AI. It’s meant to augment human
productivity and agency, but it’s not a panacea for Practice compassionate communication, focusing on
samsara. A Google tech friend said, “You must be an empathetic listening and speaking to foster deeper
expert to know if AI is correct. It’s ‘predictive’ so it connections. Engage in a gratitude practice, regularly
tells us what we want to hear. AI is good for assisting acknowledging what you appreciate in your life, which
experts who can tell when it’s “hallucinating.” It’s not can shift your perspective.
trustworthy for making important decisions, so use it
when you can accept errors.” Finally, seek out community support, connecting with
like-minded individuals to share experiences and
AI has unprecedented potential to shape all aspects reinforce your commitment to wisdom and compassion.
of our lives and behavior, therefore we must strongly These practices can create harmony amid the
advocate for robust safety standards, ethical guidelines, complexities of modern life.
laws and regulations to ensure AI development serves
and strengthens humanity.