BUDDHIST ONTOLOGY AND THE MAKING OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Shweta Kumari And Gyan Prakash
Research May 7, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20067793 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism |
| Key points | Argues that AI exhibits conceptual parallels to the Buddhist marks of conditioned existence—impermanence, non-self, and unsatisfactoriness—and proposes the concept of "mechanical unsatisfactoriness" to describe existential limitation and system dependence in AI, aiming to show common ground between Buddhist ontology and AI paradigms. |
Abstract
Artificial intelligence enables machines to think and learn like humans. The significance of artificial intelligence can be seen understood as it has been emerged as a virtual personal assistant nowadays. The rapid development of AI has raised the concerns regarding the existential status of conscious beings, particularly about the nature of human existence and consciousness. However, a closer analysis of artificial intelligence and its ontological nature reveal a notable conceptual similarity with Buddhist marks of existence. The Buddhist views on the marks of conditioned existence: impermanence (aniccā), non-self (anātman), and unsatisfactoriness (duḥkha), are interpreted as being relative to the emerging ontology and operating principles of AI. This paper attempts to argue that the cumulative, yet transient and soulless nature of dharma parallels the decentralized, interdependent, and sequential mechanism of artificial system Intelligence. The concept of “mechanical unsatisfactoriness” is defined here as analogous to the conditions of existential limitation and system dependence in an AI system. This paper aims to analyze a cross-disciplinary dialogue between ancient Buddhist discussions on ontology and contemporary paradigms of Artificial Intelligence by exploring whether there is common ground between them. Additionally, it examines whether exploring deeper into Buddhist existential characteristics can contribute to a more profound understanding of intelligence, dependent origination, and the non-substantial nature of AI. As such, this work contributes to ongoing debates in the philosophy of mind, cognitive science, and religious studies by providing a detailed explanation of the common epistemological and ontological issues surrounding human and artificial forms of existence and intelligence.
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 |