AI Generated Buddhist Sutra: What It Says and Whether It Should Be Trusted.

According to Vox: In April, Murray Shanahan, a researcher at Google DeepMind, asked the ChatGPT chatbot to create a sacred Buddhist text. The chatbot responded by presenting the Xeno Sutra, perfectly aligned with the teachings of Buddha. This sutra was completely fictional but written as if it had existed for centuries.

The question of whether sacred texts created by AI can truly have meaning remains open. However, in Buddhism, openness to spiritual guidance from texts emerging from technology can be taken seriously – thanks to the metaphysical concept of non-dualism, which is foundational to many Buddhist practices. Even robots can be part of this spiritual realm, as evidenced by the introduction of robot priests in many Buddhist temples.