Buddhism, Consciousness, and the (Im)Possibility of Ethical AI
Martin T. Adam
Contemporary Buddhism November 16, 2025 DOI: 10.1080/14639947.2025.2562749 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism |
| Key points | The author argues that Theravāda Buddhist analysis of the conditions for consciousness raises serious doubts that consciousness could ever be created in a machine environment. The author further contends that if conscious machines were developed, their agency would be amoral and would reflect the values of their corporate and state programmers, posing considerable dangers to living beings. |
Abstract
ABSTRACT This article explores the relevance of classical Theravāda Buddhist doctrine to the present-day development of artificial general intelligence. Specifically, it addresses the interconnected possibilities of machine consciousness and machine agency. The first section consists of a philosophical exploration of the notion of artificial consciousness in light of ordinary language considerations. This is followed by a Buddhist theoretical account of the conditions necessary for the arising of consciousness, relying in good part upon the medieval Abhidhamma commentary, the Abhidhammattha Saṅgaha. Serious doubts are raised as to whether consciousness could ever be created in a machine environment. The final section examines the possibility of machine agency in relation to Buddhist understandings of action (kamma). Here, it is argued that if conscious machines ever were developed, whatever agency they might demonstrate would be amoral in nature and reflective of the values of their corporate and state programmers. Their development would pose considerable dangers to living beings. While the main argument of the article is made in Buddhist terms, it is supported throughout by more general philosophical considerations and with reference to some of the relevant scientific literature.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on buddhism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mental balance and well-being: Building bridges between Buddhism and Western psychology. | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist Modernism and the Rhetoric of Meditative Experience | 1995 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist and Psychological Perspectives on Emotions and Well-Being | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Too Early to Tell: The Potential Impact and Challenges—Ethical and Otherwise—Inherent in the Mainstreaming of Dharma in an Increasingly Dystopian World | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From self to nonself: The Nonself Theory | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |