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BUDDHAROID
As Japan grapples with an aging population and shrinking workforce, researchers in Kyoto are turning to artificial intelligence to fill an unlikely gap: Buddhist monks.
Scientists at Kyoto University have unveiled an AI-powered robot monk designed to offer spiritual guidance, answer some of life's biggest questions, and even assist with religious rituals.
The Buddharoid is designed to support the Buddhist clergy as Japan’s religious community faces a steady decline.
It uses a system called BuddhaBot-Plus, a specialized AI based on OpenAI’s ChatGPT that has been trained extensively on sacred Buddhist scriptures, allowing the robot to provide spiritual guidance on personal and social issues, like a real monk would.
Beyond its conversational capabilities, the Buddharoid uses hardware to mimic the specific movements of a monk, including a slow walk, bowing, and the gassho gesture of placing palms together in prayer.
The project is led by Seiji Kumagai at the University of Kyoto's Institute for the Future of Human Society.
Unlike earlier religious robots, such as AI versions of Jesus Christ, which were largely pre-programed or limited to recorded sermons, the new system is designed to hold actual conversations while performing human-like motions.
During a recent demonstration at a temple in Japan, the faceless, grey-robed robot walked among the audience and engaged in one-to-one exchanges.
Japan is currently dealing with depopulation and a decline in religious worshipers, which has accelerated the closure of traditional places of worship; approximately 30% of Buddhist temples in Japan are projected to vanish by 2040 as younger generations move away from organized religion.
This crisis is intensified by an aging population, making it increasingly difficult for rural temples to find new monks. So, might Buddharoid be the solution to this troublesome modern problem?
Take a look at Buddharoid in action and ask yourself: would you be inspired to share your most private spiritual life with this thing? Right.
Source: euronews.com
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