At a time when artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping society, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha convened a pioneering weekend workshop on July 26-27 in San Francisco to explore how Buddhist wisdom can directly inform the ethical development of AI. The gathering brought together AI researchers with Buddhist scholars to examine how ancient insights into mind, ethics, and non‑harming could be applied to guide the safe and compassionate evolution of intelligent systems.
Of note, the workshop was held right before Chökhor Düchen, the sacred day commemorating the Buddha’s first turning of the wheel of Dharma. Just as that first teaching set in motion a vision of wisdom and compassion for humanity, this gathering represented a contemporary echo of that moment—a turning of the Dharma wheel for the age of artificial intelligence.
“In Mahāyāna Buddhism, the path of awakening is guided by both profound wisdom and boundless compassion,” said Dr. Andreas Doctor, Editorial Director at 84000. “As we face the ethical challenges of artificial intelligence, this workshop brought together ancient contemplative insights and frontier technology to explore how these teachings might help shape a more humane and ethically grounded future for AI.”
When 84000 launched, less than 5% of the Tibetan Buddhist canon—a collection of more than 200,000 pages—had ever been translated into English. Today, through one of the largest collaborative translation efforts in Buddhist history, a global network of hundreds of scholars has produced 385 published texts, bringing tens of thousands of pages of the Buddha’s words to life in a dynamic and growing online library that is freely accessible to readers worldwide for the first time. Building on this foundation, the organization is now engaging in interdisciplinary collaborations to bring Buddhist frameworks on ethics, interdependence, and compassion into some of today’s most urgent technological conversations.
“Buddhist texts offer a profound exploration of thousands of years of human inquiry into suffering, compassion, and the respect for all conscious beings, though much of it has been inaccessible over the last thousand years,” noted Max Song, AI researcher and 84000 Fellow. “The translation work of 84000 has created a unique corpus of data, which could help guide the development of superintelligence toward promoting human flourishing and the well-being of all life.”
The workshop sessions addressed:
- Developing Buddhist‑informed frameworks for minimizing harm, bias, and misalignment in AI
- Integrating insights on consciousness, interdependence, and ethical intention into AI training and alignment practices
- Building strategies for engaged collaboration between AI researchers and contemplative scholars
- Establishing interdisciplinary working groups for ongoing projects
“It was wonderful to meet so many people interested in how to make AI more compassionate and well-integrated with humanity,” said Adam Goldstein, co-founder of Softmax. “I am so glad that 84000 is working to bring ancient insights to the modern world.”
This inaugural workshop laid the groundwork for an ongoing partnership between 84000 and researchers in AI alignment, fostering continued dialogue, research, and collaboration. On a historical day that celebrates the Buddha’s first teaching, the gathering signaled a hopeful new beginning—one where Buddhist wisdom can help shape the ethical foundations of intelligent systems. As 84000 carries these insights forward, we will share them across our global Mandala and invite AI researchers worldwide to join us in ensuring that the future of AI is guided by compassion, ethics, and the principles of non‑harming.