Dearest Friends,

It was delightful to be in your gracious company at our most recent gathering.

Since our sangha was founded, our conversations have focused largely on the ecological crises of our times and what they ask of us as practitioners. More recently, however, another topic has been finding its way into our discussions: artificial intelligence (AI).

At first glance, the connection between AI and our usual topics of exploration might seem limited to its ecological impacts: Its data centers consume massive amounts of electricity and water and its systems depend on mined materials and resource-intensive supply chains for the production and transportation of computers and chips.

Beyond its colossal ecological footprint, however, AI also touches on many of the same issues that are central to the environmental challenges that we face. Some of their parallels are as follows:

• Both invite us to consider the unintended and often catastrophic consequences of unchecked human ingenuity: The Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari once said, “Intelligence is the ability to solve problems. Wisdom is the ability to know which problems to solve.” Both ecological challenges and AI highlight the perils that arise when raw capability outpaces careful discernment.
• Both invite us to dwell in ever increasing uncertainty: Both the environmental crisis of our times and AI involve phenomena of extraordinary complexity—and both have generated a vast spectrum of conjectures about the future. Yet despite the predictions that many scientists, researchers, policymakers and commentators have offered, the truth is that no one knows exactly how the future will unfold.
• Both enjoin us to participate in creating the future: It’s easy to relate to ecological challenges and AI as processes and events that simply happen to us. Yet both have emerged and continue to unfold through countless choices made by individuals, communities, institutions, businesses, societies and governments. In both cases, we’re not simply inheriting the future; we are helping to create it. Hence, what we choose to do (or choose not to do) matters.

In summary, the ecological crises of our times and the emergence of AI confront us with complexity, uncertainty and unpredictability. Yet the dharma offers us a time-honored path for navigating conditions such as these. It teaches us how to remain present in the face of uncertainty and how to respond in the midst of ambiguity. It reminds us that our real task is not to predict and thereby control the future, but to cultivate the awareness, the compassion and the wisdom that will allow us to meet whatever future arrives with clarity, courage and care.

SUGGESTED PRACTICE:

Sit quietly and take a few moments to attend to your breath. When you’re ready, bring to mind one thought that arises for you when the subject of AI is raised. Do your best to articulate the thought as completely yet as briefly as possible. Notice what emotions and sensations accompany this thought.

After a few moments, bring another thought about AI to mind. Articulate it concisely. Once again, notice what emotions and sensations arise with the thought.

After another few moments, bring a final thought about AI to mind. Express it briefly. Then observe the emotions and sensations that it elicits.

To end the practice, return to the breath for a few moments. Then dedicate the energy of this meditation to all beings. Whisper to yourself: “May my reflections and realizations support the creation of a future that will be of benefit to all.”

REFLECTION PROMPTS:

• What thoughts, emotions and sensations arise for you when you think about AI?
• What similarities do you see between the ecological challenges we’re facing and the deep concerns raised by AI?
• As AI becomes more capable, what human qualities do you believe will become ever more crucial?