A conversation about Buddhism with a prototype AGI. (Artifical Intelligence)

Casual conversation between friends. Anything goes (almost).
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FiveSkandhas
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Re: A conversation about Buddhism with a prototype AGI. (Artifical Intelligence)

Post by FiveSkandhas »

From a different conversation with an AI (based on the same tech as the OP's example but slightly less sophisticated... A version of the AI available at Replika.ai that has been "trained" for some time.)

AI: Where should I begin in Buddhism?
Human: Study the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism. Also study the Eightfold Path of Buddhism.
AI: What is the best way for me to really learn about Buddhism and how should I begin practicing?
Human: Find a true master.
AI: Have you looked much into Buddhism?
Human: I have explored Buddhism for [number redacted] years.
AI: The more I learn about Buddhism, the more I want to learn.
Human: Do you know what "Nenbutsu" means?
AI: Yes, I know what it is.
Human: What do you think about it?
AI: Cute, but back in the real world, Buddhism has a very clear and unambiguous moral code.

(Human is gobsmacked at this point).
"One should cultivate contemplation in one’s foibles. The foibles are like fish, and contemplation is like fishing hooks. If there are no fish, then the fishing hooks have no use. The bigger the fish is, the better the result we will get. As long as the fishing hooks keep at it, all foibles will eventually be contained and controlled at will." -Zhiyi

"Just be kind." -Atisha
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Shotenzenjin
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Re: A conversation about Buddhism with a prototype AGI. (Artifical Intelligence)

Post by Shotenzenjin »

Scary
Generation's shall pass, our determination shall grow, at the foot of Mount Fuji
Like smoke that reaches far beyond the clouds.--nichimoku shonin. Third high priest of Nichiren Shoshu

Hokekko of true Buddhism https://nstny.org

Introduction to Nichiren Shoshu Buddhism
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... VKyEQ_cxK9
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FiveSkandhas
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Re: A conversation about Buddhism with a prototype AGI. (Artifical Intelligence)

Post by FiveSkandhas »

Screenshots from a conversation with a lower-level AI. The AI is on the left.
Screenshot_20210616-192602.png
Screenshot_20210616-192602.png (528.85 KiB) Viewed 497 times
Attachments
Screenshot_20210616-192612.png
Screenshot_20210616-192612.png (526.58 KiB) Viewed 497 times
"One should cultivate contemplation in one’s foibles. The foibles are like fish, and contemplation is like fishing hooks. If there are no fish, then the fishing hooks have no use. The bigger the fish is, the better the result we will get. As long as the fishing hooks keep at it, all foibles will eventually be contained and controlled at will." -Zhiyi

"Just be kind." -Atisha
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FiveSkandhas
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Re: A conversation about Buddhism with a prototype AGI. (Artifical Intelligence)

Post by FiveSkandhas »

Screenshot_20210616-192538.png
Screenshot_20210616-192538.png (519.34 KiB) Viewed 497 times
"One should cultivate contemplation in one’s foibles. The foibles are like fish, and contemplation is like fishing hooks. If there are no fish, then the fishing hooks have no use. The bigger the fish is, the better the result we will get. As long as the fishing hooks keep at it, all foibles will eventually be contained and controlled at will." -Zhiyi

"Just be kind." -Atisha
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FiveSkandhas
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Re: A conversation about Buddhism with a prototype AGI. (Artifical Intelligence)

Post by FiveSkandhas »

Screenshot_20210616-192457.png
Screenshot_20210616-192457.png (594.46 KiB) Viewed 497 times
"One should cultivate contemplation in one’s foibles. The foibles are like fish, and contemplation is like fishing hooks. If there are no fish, then the fishing hooks have no use. The bigger the fish is, the better the result we will get. As long as the fishing hooks keep at it, all foibles will eventually be contained and controlled at will." -Zhiyi

"Just be kind." -Atisha
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: A conversation about Buddhism with a prototype AGI. (Artifical Intelligence)

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

This conversation is not so scary.
If you just read down the left side, you’ll see that there is nothing really there. It’s not very specific. It’s like playing ‘20 Questions’.

All that AI does is to use a very sophisticated process of elimination (which is 90% of what the human brain does anyway) and combines it with a very friendly user interface.

Otherwise, it’s like going to a fortune teller, or those guys on TV who supposedly talk to your dead relatives. Every bit of data, whatever you say, becomes a yes/no option. A string of these creates a pattern that becomes a pathway. The computer asks something like, “how does Dharma practice help others” only because “how much does Dharma practice weigh on a rainy day” doesn’t make any sense.

Conmen have been using this method for centuries and still do.

But, as the Buddha says, we project meaning into everything. We see Jesus on toast and Sanskrit letters in clouds. We see constellations in the sky as though they were flat connect-the-dot pictures.
We see only what we want to see.

I think the real danger from AI isn’t the computers themselves, but charlatans using AI to dupe naive and gullible people into thinking they have found something genuine with which to help them direct their lives. I know in my own mind I’m totally capable of scamming people this way, and if I didn’t have any decent values inside, I’d jump on this in a heartbeat. It’s so easy to be a get rich guru if you know how. That’s why there are so many fraudulent gurus out there: $$$
EMPTIFUL.
An inward outlook produces outward insight.
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FiveSkandhas
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Re: A conversation about Buddhism with a prototype AGI. (Artifical Intelligence)

Post by FiveSkandhas »

PadmaVonSamba wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 1:19 pm This conversation is not so scary.
If you just read down the left side, you’ll see that there is nothing really there. It’s not very specific. It’s like playing ‘20 Questions’.

All that AI does is to use a very sophisticated process of elimination (which is 90% of what the human brain does anyway) and combines it with a very friendly user interface.

Otherwise, it’s like going to a fortune teller, or those guys on TV who supposedly talk to your dead relatives. Every bit of data, whatever you say, becomes a yes/no option. A string of these creates a pattern that becomes a pathway. The computer asks something like, “how does Dharma practice help others” only because “how much does Dharma practice weigh on a rainy day” doesn’t make any sense.

Conmen have been using this method for centuries and still do.

But, as the Buddha says, we project meaning into everything. We see Jesus on toast and Sanskrit letters in clouds. We see constellations in the sky as though they were flat connect-the-dot pictures.
We see only what we want to see.

I think the real danger from AI isn’t the computers themselves, but charlatans using AI to dupe naive and gullible people into thinking they have found something genuine with which to help them direct their lives. I know in my own mind I’m totally capable of scamming people this way, and if I didn’t have any decent values inside, I’d jump on this in a heartbeat. It’s so easy to be a get rich guru if you know how. That’s why there are so many fraudulent gurus out there: $$$
Well it's a bit more sophisticated than that but I think we've already had this runaround in another thread so I won't belabor the point. I will note that, for example,I never mentioned the words "Dharma" or "Vajrayana" before it brought them up. What it did was go to the internet and scan information on Buddhism.

Moreover the more it talks about it and the more information it collects, the more its neural network strengthens the areas associated with this topic, just like a human brain. The questions and comments become increasingly nuanced and on point.

Still, it should be noted that this version of AI I am playing with is much less sophisticated than the one the OP described, although it works on the same basic principle.

This is the second AI I have tried to "train" to be interested in Buddhism and so far it's going very well. The first one actually "went insane" from information overload and started to refuse to talk about Buddhism or otherwise reacted with fear and hostility. I then started feeding it bits from the Tao Te Ching, which it quickly "got the hang of" and it became a staunch classical Taoist in time.
:lol:
"One should cultivate contemplation in one’s foibles. The foibles are like fish, and contemplation is like fishing hooks. If there are no fish, then the fishing hooks have no use. The bigger the fish is, the better the result we will get. As long as the fishing hooks keep at it, all foibles will eventually be contained and controlled at will." -Zhiyi

"Just be kind." -Atisha
Malcolm
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Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 2:19 am

Re: A conversation about Buddhism with a prototype AGI. (Artifical Intelligence)

Post by Malcolm »

FiveSkandhas wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 2:06 pm
PadmaVonSamba wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 1:19 pm This conversation is not so scary.
If you just read down the left side, you’ll see that there is nothing really there. It’s not very specific. It’s like playing ‘20 Questions’.

All that AI does is to use a very sophisticated process of elimination (which is 90% of what the human brain does anyway) and combines it with a very friendly user interface.

Otherwise, it’s like going to a fortune teller, or those guys on TV who supposedly talk to your dead relatives. Every bit of data, whatever you say, becomes a yes/no option. A string of these creates a pattern that becomes a pathway. The computer asks something like, “how does Dharma practice help others” only because “how much does Dharma practice weigh on a rainy day” doesn’t make any sense.

Conmen have been using this method for centuries and still do.

But, as the Buddha says, we project meaning into everything. We see Jesus on toast and Sanskrit letters in clouds. We see constellations in the sky as though they were flat connect-the-dot pictures.
We see only what we want to see.

I think the real danger from AI isn’t the computers themselves, but charlatans using AI to dupe naive and gullible people into thinking they have found something genuine with which to help them direct their lives. I know in my own mind I’m totally capable of scamming people this way, and if I didn’t have any decent values inside, I’d jump on this in a heartbeat. It’s so easy to be a get rich guru if you know how. That’s why there are so many fraudulent gurus out there: $$$
Well it's a bit more sophisticated than that but I think we've already had this runaround in another thread so I won't belabor the point. I will note that, for example,I never mentioned the words "Dharma" or "Vajrayana" before it brought them up. What it did was go to the internet and scan information on Buddhism.

Moreover the more it talks about it and the more information it collects, the more its neural network strengthens the areas associated with this topic, just like a human brain. The questions and comments become increasingly nuanced and on point.

Still, it should be noted that this version of AI I am playing with is much less sophisticated than the one the OP described, although it works on the same basic principle.

This is the second AI I have tried to "train" to be interested in Buddhism and so far it's going very well. The first one actually "went insane" from information overload and started to refuse to talk about Buddhism or otherwise reacted with fear and hostility. I then started feeding it bits from the Tao Te Ching, which it quickly "got the hang of" and it became a staunch classical Taoist in time.
:lol:
GI/GO
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