New Books in Buddhist Studies A.I. and Practice with Stuart Baldwin
Nov 10, 2023
Stuart Baldwin, co-founder of the Imperfect Buddha podcast and tech-minded commentator, returns to tackle AI and societal change. He discusses exponential tech shifts, risks of AI accelerating systemic harms, the erosion of trust and boredom, and practices to reclaim embodiment, playfulness, and collective wisdom. Short, provocative, and focused on navigating rapid technological disruption.
AI Snips
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Books
Transcript
Episode notes
AI Acts As An Accelerant To Existing Crises
- Stuart frames AI not as an isolated risk but as an accelerant that amplifies existing systemic problems like power concentration and truth decay.
- He argues the key leverage is building 'wisdom and restraint' into collective technological systems.
Resist Market Only Deployment Of AI
- Avoid leaving AI solely to market forces because incentives will push catastrophic adoption and centralization.
- Stuart recommends considering both open vs closed models and warns central control creates a single point of capture and dystopia.
AI Is Man Made With Real Material Costs
- Kate Crawford's reframing: current systems are not 'artificial' or 'intelligent' but man-made with real costs like copyright and energy.
- Matthew O’Connell highlights energy consumption and data-sourcing constraints as natural limits to AI expansion.
