AI came to religion: "Buddha-bot" for believers created in Japan

A group of researchers from Japan has developed an artificial intelligence system and application for

smartphones, which answers users' questions about what worries them, from a Buddhist point of view.

To train the neural network, scientists used twoBuddhist texts: a collection of sutras "Sutta Nipata" and a book compiled from the poetic sayings of the Buddha - "Dhammapada". A Buddha is depicted on the screen of the mobile application: at the same time, augmented reality technology allows placing it in the user's real environment, captured by a smartphone camera.

The user can "communicate" using textmessages or voices, and the AI ​​system responds to them, creating the feeling that the Buddha is present in the room, maintaining a dialogue. So far, the system continues to be trained and is available only in a test version for a limited number of users and events.

Mobile application interface. Image: Kyoto University

Scientists plan to release the AI ​​into the public domain once it has been further refined and can flexibly adapt responses depending on the user and his needs.

Temple revenues are falling while anxiety andhuman suffering is increasing amid the coronavirus pandemic and other crises. We would like to answer both problems by merging conventional wisdom with AI and the metaverse.

Seiji Kumagai, Associate Professor of Buddhist Studies at Kyoto University, co-author of the development

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