We have all seen them: parrots. Most people don't really have strong reasoning skills, and they just repeat information they learn from elsewhere. This is true in Buddhist discussions as well. Our society is inundated with mediocrity, and voices of reason are drowned in a sea of pretentious masses that lack substance. The Dunning–Kruger effect, you may call it. None of this is new. It's been like that ever since the dawn of humanity.
However, today we are at the dawn of a new era. We now have AI, and it's rapidly getting better. It is no longer a question of if, but of when. AI already understands Buddhism better than most people, even today. And I wonder how much longer people can pretend they understand Buddhism (and even teach it), when in reality they don't. It soon may become embarrassing to preach Buddhism in the traditional way, when everyone actually has access to versions of AI with strong reasoning skills. We have all seen massive layoffs in the technology sector. I guess only people with truly strong reasoning skills will survive and thrive. What about Buddhism and religions in general? How much longer can people pretend to ignore AI, when we assume it understands everything better than humans? How much longer can religious teachers paint a false picture of life and existence, when people begin to realize that human teachings may not stand up to AI scrutiny?
I guess the world will be split into two classes of people: those who can work side by side with AI and have access to knowledge and reasoning, and those who are excluded from the AI world and its tools, living at the mercy of welfare. The difference from before is that, in the past, one could lie their way through and still gain followers. In the future, those left out may have to accept that AI is more capable than they are, and that it ultimately holds the truth.
It's kind of a scary thought. In the old days, one could laugh at the reasoning capabilities of machines. But soon, and by that I mean this time next year, whoever laughs at machines will themselves be laughed at, because, in fact, machines can reason much better and have access to thousands of times more sources of information and perspectives than humans can ever achieve. The value of elite human workers is no longer about how much they know, but about how well they can reason and work side-by-side with machines. Detailed knowledge of things is forever relegated to machines. All of a sudden, the value of parrots becomes nil.
Asked by Jason Lu
(105 rep)
Apr 14, 2026, 01:56 AM