Here is the text of the speech that I will be delivering in Taiwan at the "Buddhism, Science and Future" this weekend (LINK). I think there will eventually be a video, but I am not sure. The artwork for the slides is by ChatGPT 4o.
~~~~
Jundo Cohen (Author of Building the Future Buddha)
-“BUILDING the FUTURE BUDDHA: Calling All 'White Hat' Researchers”
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AI will not be used alone, in isolation, …
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… but rather, A.I. will be used together with other new advances soon coming in medicine, neuro-science, genetics and bio-science, robotics, virtual reality and more. So, we should not just speak of the use of A.I. in isolation. We should also speak of A.I. as it supercharges and combines with these other new technologies that are coming, many in the next decades or even few years.
This is scary. The fear of many of us is that A.I. and these other technologies will be used by militarists to build better weapons and super-soldiers, by dictators to enslave populations, by industrialists who simply wish to sell us more junk and make a profit.
. dataurl518391.jpg
We have a choice. We Buddhists and other ethical people cannot simply wait, passively, hoping that things will turn out for the best. We cannot say that it is just Samsara, and watch from a distance, from inside our protected monasteries, looking at the violence, poverty and pollution outside.
Now, I believe that these technologies are coming and cannot be stopped, or even easily regulated. I believe that “bad guys” will misuse them for bad things. So, if we cannot stop or effectively regulate these technologies, we should instead recognize that ….
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… there is also presented a real chance to do GOOD offered by these new A.I. driven technologies, ways to cancel or lessen the bad uses …
It is our chance, if we act wisely, to employ these same new technologies to create, not a dystopian future, but instead a happier, more peaceful world of justice, realizing many ancient ideals of Buddhism to lessen violence, reduce hunger and poverty, cure diseases, bring more love, compassion and goodness into this world.
. dataurl518394.jpg
Incredible technological power is coming. I believe that, whether we like it or not, these new technologies cannot be stopped. Maybe they can be slowed, but not halted. If so, perhaps, these tools can be ethically used to realize what engaged Buddhists have long hoped for in this world, a bit of the Pure Land on this earth.
. dataurl518395.jpg
But in order to do so, we need groups of “white hat” researchers and scientists who can get ahead of and beat the “black hat” militarists, outwit the industrialists and get ahead of the other beings who will misuse these technologies. I think you know the symbol of the “white hat” as the “good guys” who save the town from the bad guys in cowboy movies. I believe that, sitting in this audience right now are some of those “white hat” scientists. Maybe you.
. dataurl518396.jpg
Traditionally, Buddhism has used such methods as meditation and teachings from the Precepts, teachings of Ahimsa non-violence, encouragement of Compassion and loving-kindness. We have emphasized non-greed and simplicity of desires, and we have hoped to instill these values in people. However it is my belief that these new A.I. driven Tech-Upaya, Tech-spedient means, can change human nature, can realize these ancient goals in ways that even our traditional Upaya and other Buddhist methods of the past could not do as effectively or widely.
Now, before I get into how we do this ethically, voluntarily, let me discuss what are the three changes I hope and believe we might be able to make to human nature very soon:
. dataurl518397.jpg
1. Reducing extreme anger that rises to the point of violence done in rage
We should employ advanced medicine to treat, and reduce, the propensity for some individuals to fall into extreme, uncontrolled degrees of anger to the point that they do violence in rage. I do not feel that we should eliminate all anger. I am a Buddhist who believes that moderate upset is not the problem. But extreme anger is different. Extreme anger, especially to the extent of boiling over, so that one person might pick up a stone and strike another, or a gun and shoot another, this is the problem. Most people do not become so angry under ordinary conditions that they would do physical harm to another. But some people do, some people cannot control their extremes of anger, and medical means to moderate such extremes of anger will be improving greatly in coming years. If we were to cure the disease of uncontrolled rage, we would reduce much violence in this world.
. dataurl518398.jpg
2. Increasing human empathy, so that even strangers feel like parents, brothers and children
Imagine a world in which one could no more walk past a stranger hungry and homeless in the street than one could walk past one’s one child if hungry and homeless. Imagine that someone would hesitate to raise a weapon against a stranger just as they would hesitate to do so against their own beloved mother, that people saw enemies as having the faces of their own brothers and sisters. Hunger and homelessness would begin to vanish, wars would be so much harder to fight when we suddenly see enemies as our loving children and friends.
. dataurl518399.jpg
I like to joke that, if something in our brains were cross-wired so that, suddenly, doing charity made us as aroused as sex, people would run to work in homeless shelters to feed the hungry like they run to the bedroom, men would watch images of cats being rescued from trees on the internet for their personal titillation. Charity orgasms?
Now, I do not think that we can and should make people so empathic and charitable that they forget to feed themselves, to take care of themselves. There can be too much self-sacrifice. Instead, a relatively moderate increase in human empathy, maybe 20 or 30% more than we are, would see great changes in society.
(CONTINUED BELOW)
~~~~
Jundo Cohen (Author of Building the Future Buddha)
-“BUILDING the FUTURE BUDDHA: Calling All 'White Hat' Researchers”
. dataurl518378.jpg
AI will not be used alone, in isolation, …
. dataurl518389.jpg
… but rather, A.I. will be used together with other new advances soon coming in medicine, neuro-science, genetics and bio-science, robotics, virtual reality and more. So, we should not just speak of the use of A.I. in isolation. We should also speak of A.I. as it supercharges and combines with these other new technologies that are coming, many in the next decades or even few years.
This is scary. The fear of many of us is that A.I. and these other technologies will be used by militarists to build better weapons and super-soldiers, by dictators to enslave populations, by industrialists who simply wish to sell us more junk and make a profit.
. dataurl518391.jpg
We have a choice. We Buddhists and other ethical people cannot simply wait, passively, hoping that things will turn out for the best. We cannot say that it is just Samsara, and watch from a distance, from inside our protected monasteries, looking at the violence, poverty and pollution outside.
Now, I believe that these technologies are coming and cannot be stopped, or even easily regulated. I believe that “bad guys” will misuse them for bad things. So, if we cannot stop or effectively regulate these technologies, we should instead recognize that ….
. dataurl518393.jpg
… there is also presented a real chance to do GOOD offered by these new A.I. driven technologies, ways to cancel or lessen the bad uses …
It is our chance, if we act wisely, to employ these same new technologies to create, not a dystopian future, but instead a happier, more peaceful world of justice, realizing many ancient ideals of Buddhism to lessen violence, reduce hunger and poverty, cure diseases, bring more love, compassion and goodness into this world.
. dataurl518394.jpg
Incredible technological power is coming. I believe that, whether we like it or not, these new technologies cannot be stopped. Maybe they can be slowed, but not halted. If so, perhaps, these tools can be ethically used to realize what engaged Buddhists have long hoped for in this world, a bit of the Pure Land on this earth.
. dataurl518395.jpg
But in order to do so, we need groups of “white hat” researchers and scientists who can get ahead of and beat the “black hat” militarists, outwit the industrialists and get ahead of the other beings who will misuse these technologies. I think you know the symbol of the “white hat” as the “good guys” who save the town from the bad guys in cowboy movies. I believe that, sitting in this audience right now are some of those “white hat” scientists. Maybe you.
. dataurl518396.jpg
Traditionally, Buddhism has used such methods as meditation and teachings from the Precepts, teachings of Ahimsa non-violence, encouragement of Compassion and loving-kindness. We have emphasized non-greed and simplicity of desires, and we have hoped to instill these values in people. However it is my belief that these new A.I. driven Tech-Upaya, Tech-spedient means, can change human nature, can realize these ancient goals in ways that even our traditional Upaya and other Buddhist methods of the past could not do as effectively or widely.
Now, before I get into how we do this ethically, voluntarily, let me discuss what are the three changes I hope and believe we might be able to make to human nature very soon:
. dataurl518397.jpg
1. Reducing extreme anger that rises to the point of violence done in rage
We should employ advanced medicine to treat, and reduce, the propensity for some individuals to fall into extreme, uncontrolled degrees of anger to the point that they do violence in rage. I do not feel that we should eliminate all anger. I am a Buddhist who believes that moderate upset is not the problem. But extreme anger is different. Extreme anger, especially to the extent of boiling over, so that one person might pick up a stone and strike another, or a gun and shoot another, this is the problem. Most people do not become so angry under ordinary conditions that they would do physical harm to another. But some people do, some people cannot control their extremes of anger, and medical means to moderate such extremes of anger will be improving greatly in coming years. If we were to cure the disease of uncontrolled rage, we would reduce much violence in this world.
. dataurl518398.jpg
2. Increasing human empathy, so that even strangers feel like parents, brothers and children
Imagine a world in which one could no more walk past a stranger hungry and homeless in the street than one could walk past one’s one child if hungry and homeless. Imagine that someone would hesitate to raise a weapon against a stranger just as they would hesitate to do so against their own beloved mother, that people saw enemies as having the faces of their own brothers and sisters. Hunger and homelessness would begin to vanish, wars would be so much harder to fight when we suddenly see enemies as our loving children and friends.
. dataurl518399.jpg
I like to joke that, if something in our brains were cross-wired so that, suddenly, doing charity made us as aroused as sex, people would run to work in homeless shelters to feed the hungry like they run to the bedroom, men would watch images of cats being rescued from trees on the internet for their personal titillation. Charity orgasms?
Now, I do not think that we can and should make people so empathic and charitable that they forget to feed themselves, to take care of themselves. There can be too much self-sacrifice. Instead, a relatively moderate increase in human empathy, maybe 20 or 30% more than we are, would see great changes in society.
(CONTINUED BELOW)
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