Why Buddhism?
We subscribe to the view that the landscape of risks from AI is complex and encompasses psycho-social, economic, and existential risks, and that for humanity to navigate the next few years successfully will require addressing multiple subproblems through a combination of, for example:
Global advocacy, and the need for increasing diverse perspectives and voices to understand and communicate the complexity and depth of AI risks.
Technical progress, including new frameworks for solving alignment problems.
International coordination, including better East-West cooperation to understand the risks of the US-China AI race, including the imposition of benefit caps on AI applications.
Social and emotional support for those involved in AI work, and those whose mental and social health is affected by the rapid change induced by AI and its catastrophic potential.
Our view is that Buddhism offers a viable avenue for new approaches to progress on each of these fronts. Though Buddhist institutions and communities have so far remained largely on the periphery of discussions about AI safety and ethics, our aim is to make a transition as quickly as possible from a currently disconnected religious population to one deeply engaged in AI safety.
Buddhists are particularly well placed to engage in AI safety for these reasons:
A Globally Respected Voice of Wisdom and Compassion
Buddhist leaders and institutions are globally respected on issues of peace, ethics, and human flourishing, making them a trusted moral voice beyond social and religious boundaries.
Buddhist institutions hold cultural and political sway in Asia, where AI development is rapidly accelerating (e.g., China, Japan, South Korea, India, and Southeast Asia).
There is a notable presence of Buddhist and Buddhist-influenced practitioners in Silicon Valley and other tech hubs who can support productive interdisciplinary dialogue.
A Unique Tradition of Ethical and Systemic Thinking
Buddhist moral philosophy is not rule-based but deeply systemic, contextual, and adaptive—it considers intentionality, long-term consequences, interdependence, and the root causes of human suffering. Unlike many Western ethical models that focus on individual rights and freedoms, Buddhism emphasizes societal well-being and the reduction of suffering of all beings, offering a unique lens in AI safety discussions.
Buddhism’s “Middle Way” approach is well-suited for navigating between extremes in AI discourse (e.g., techno-utopianism vs. doomerism).
Integration with Western Science
For decades, Buddhist leaders have engaged in dialogue with neuroscientists, psychologists, and physicists, generating the field of contemplative science. This collaboration has helped establish an empirical basis for practices like meditation and ethical training, grounding Buddhist insights in rigorous scientific research and creating leverage for Buddhist voices beyond mere faith.
Given AI safety’s interdisciplinary nature, this demonstrated ability to bridge ancient wisdom with modern science makes Buddhism an ideal contributor.
Broad Secular Reach with Practical Applications
Buddhist-derived practices such as mindfulness meditation, compassion training, and social-emotional learning (SEL) are already widely adopted in education, healthcare, and corporate settings. These practices offer secular tools for ethical AI leadership, including cognitive and emotional resilience for decision-makers in AI policy and advocates of AI safety, as well as compassion-based approaches to AI alignment.
Buddhism has a long tradition of social engagement and effective activism on global issues, including climate change, human rights, and economic justice, that provides a template and existing infrastructure for AI safety activism.
Phase 1: Mapping the Buddhist Landscape
Phase 1 of this initiative includes a three-month mapping sprint to chart and assess the Buddhist landscape's potential for AI safety engagement, on which our team has already begun to make progress.
Most of the globally impactful projects that could originate from Buddhist communities require first assessing where the key leverage points are within the Buddhist landscape. Because Buddhism is a decentralized religious tradition, exploratory work is required to form relationships and identify opportunities for impact.
This preliminary phase includes:
Identify and map key Buddhist institutions, teachers, communities, and activist networks across major traditions (Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana) and regions, documenting power structures and influence flows within Buddhist communities. Assess technical competency, potential for funding flows, Buddhist activist initiatives, and other leverage points.
Conduct ~50 to 100 targeted conversations with Buddhist leaders, teachers, practitioners, and other relevant stakeholders, with the aim to connect with people and institutions who could play outsized roles in educating Buddhist audiences and coordinating action
Identify “live players” who demonstrate interest and capacity to engage with AI safety, and map existing, specifically Buddhist engagement with technology and AI ethics
Phase 2: Developing a Strategic Plan for Buddhist Engagement
One of the primary takeaways from our networking so far is that there is consensus that Buddhists “don’t have a plan” for x-risk reduction or even how to respond to AI more generally. Our aim is to address this gap and propose a central strategy that responds to the risks and enables Buddhists to meaningfully engage.
Once we’ve completed our initial networking, we’ll work asynchronously with the sharpest and most prolific Buddhist leaders in our network to begin to develop a “plan” for AI. We are confident that we’ll be able to deliver this given that there has been broad, enthusiastic interest in the work we are doing so far, and a shared sense of frustration that previous Buddhism & AI conferences have failed to lead to meaningful work. People are looking for an alternative.
We aim to create a plan with the following features:
A 20+ year vision of what a positive future looks like, informed by the promise of transformative artificial intelligence and the genuine existential risks humanity faces today. Based on our conversations so far, we expect this vision may include some of the following:
Development of a modern Buddhist political and social theory with pragmatic avenues for crossing the “spiritual” and “material” divide, i.e. Buddhists genuinely engaging with the issues of risks of the day
Successfully modernized Buddhist theories of mind, emotion, and human flourishing – with enough technical precision that they can be applied to artificial intelligence and alignment.
Applied rigorous scientific methodologies (e.g., cognitive neuroscience, affective science, and clinical research) to contemplative practice and meditation, leading to greater access to the benefits of these pathways (e.g., personalized meditation protocols, etc.)
Technical projects to support Buddhism, including data centers, full digitization and translation of all Buddhist works, and “modernizing” of dharma for the digital age
Consolidated strategic engagement of Buddhists on a narrative and political level, with stronger messaging and communications about AI risk, and the value of Buddhist practice in an increasingly challenging, rapidly changing world
A path from the present to this positive vision of the future, leveraging current Buddhist resources and creating sub-plans for where they fall short
A path for Buddhists to immediately engage in x-risk reduction work such as issuing political statements and harm mitigation work including contemplative-based social and mental health interventions
A Buddhist statement on AI safety and ethics (similar to Vatican's Antiqua et Nova) that aims to add weight to the global conversation on AI risks and positive visions of the future.
Phase 3: Coalition Conference and Formal Statement
Once the plan has cohered, we’ll bring together a small-group conference of 20-30 participants to finalize the plan and formal “Buddhist Statement on AI,” laying out action-items for operationalizing the plan and ensuring future coordination (e.g. distribution of projects, communications channels and norms, expectations of involvement, etc.).
This Coalition Conference is one of the key initiatives that requires significant funding given we intend to rent an adequate venue, fly out certain participants, and offer a modest financial incentive to those attending.
Before publicly releasing the plan and statement, we’ll share it with our wider network and acquire signatures, such that final published statement reads as authoritative and representative of Buddhist communities more broadly. We expect this to take 1-2 months following the conference.
Later Work
If successful, we will formalize the coalition of Engaged Buddhists for Responsible AI by establishing an official organizing body to serve as a "field catalyst” with a governance structure and the ability to build institutional relationships with Buddhist organizations and other key entities.
Further efforts would lead to doubling down on successful pilot programs and launching higher-impact, longer-term projects, such as:
Expand engagement to Buddhist communities across Asia with the aim of building foundations for East-West relationships on AI safety
Develop a sustainable funding model for ongoing work, as well as a funding model that can move money between the AI safety and Buddhist/contemplative science worlds (which currently have essentially no funding overlap)
Build partnerships with other faith-based and ethical AI initiatives in order to create more of a unified voice on “wisdom tradition views on AI safety”