The Challenge of AI
It is clear that the topic of artificial intelligence and its impact on our society has now become central in public debate, in the reflections of politics, and represents a challenge on the cultural and philosophical level that Buddhism, like other religions, must and can urgently address.
In November 2023, the EBU was invited in Brussels, at the European Parliament, for a conference entitled "Artificial Intelligence and Fundamental Human Values": the various speakers drew attention to a fundamental element, namely the fact that artificial intelligence has now become an indispensable and structural element, and not only with regard to the web, social media or communication. Indeed, large institutions, public administration without the technological support of artificial intelligence could simply not function today. But the real issue of political concern is the impact that this technology has on decision-making processes and on the quality, transparency and very management of power in modern democracies.
Developments in robotics call into question not only the ultimate meaning of being human, but the deepest values of humanity itself: the large-scale use of these technologies in areas such as medicine, personal care, and education represent both an opportunity and a threat. The theme of empathy, relationship, compassion, ethics and the ability to understand the sense of identity with the human being: this is the main issue to be addressed. Recently, for example, the British government has organised an international conference on the outskirts of London to consider how this phenomenon can be dealt with politically, technically and scientifically. In February 2023, the Vatican itself initiated a major conference with the three Abrahamic religions on the ethical boundaries of artificial intelligence.
Already in 2019, the European Buddhist Union itself contributed to a report on Ethics and Artificial Intelligence, published by the European Commission, which saw the contribution of experts from all over the world. Religions are, today, called upon to offer a possible different perspective on this very terrain, and it goes without saying that the voices of the experts who have generously chosen to contribute to this issue of the magazine represent a step in this direction.
Stefano Davide Bettera
European Buddhist Union
President
Each quarter the EBU publishes a magazine with articles, interviews and other content - mostly from Buddhists in Europe. The goal is to have an overarching medium which connects the vast Buddhist landscape of the European continent.