S05 : Ep. 10 : Can AI Ever Be Conscious? A Buddhist Perspective on Intelligence, Ethics & Humanity Featuring Ajahn Dhammasiha

As artificial intelligence accelerates at an unprecedented pace, one question becomes impossible to ignore: What truly makes us human?

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In this deeply reflective and thought-provoking episode, host Rashan Senanayake sits down with Ajahn Dhammasiha, a Buddhist monk and long-time teacher, to explore the intersection of artificial intelligence, consciousness, ethics, and ancient Buddhist wisdom. Together, they unpack why intelligence is not the same as wisdom, why data and computation fall short of consciousness, and why empathy, conscience, and moral responsibility remain uniquely human qualities, at least for now.

Ajahn Dhammasiha offers a rare perspective on AI through the lens of Buddhism, framing it not as a belief system, but as a reproducible science of the mind. The conversation challenges materialistic views of intelligence and raises urgent ethical questions about how emerging technologies should be designed, governed, and guided.

This is not a technical discussion about code or computation, but a human conversation about responsibility, ethics, and the future of intelligence itself. If you’re working in technology, education, leadership, design, policy, or innovation, or simply curious about the future we’re building, this episode will challenge how you think about AI, consciousness, and what it truly means to be human.