Hinduism\u2019s Bhagavad Gita<\/a>. Users can explore spiritual answers to personal problems and existential questions at anytime, without the typical hurdles of connecting with an in-demand guru and paying for their services.<\/p>\nAI\u2019s rising popularity has encouraged some successful gurus to launch their own chatbots.<\/p>\n
In India, Jaggi Vasudev, also known as Sadhguru, has launched his Miracle of the Mind app with an interactive AI feature that answers questions using a database of his teachings. California-based self-help guru Deepak Chopra has an AI platform where \u201cDigital Deepak\u201d answers questions drawing from his decades of talks and writings.<\/p>\n
Critics argue that AI cannot truly replace the lived experience, wisdom and ethical accountability of a human guru. Researchers also note that AI often validates and agrees with the user rather than posing those challenging questions needed for real spiritual and personal growth.<\/p>\n
Lord Krishna\u2019s AI avatar takes on guru\u2019s role<\/p>\n
Vikas Sahu, founder of GitaGPT \u2014 a platform he calls an \u201cAI spiritual companion\u201d \u2014 says he wouldn\u2019t deter anyone from finding a human guru. But he says his free chatbot puts the Bhagavad Gita\u2019s wisdom at the fingertips of those who might desperately need it.<\/p>\n
On his platform, AI avatars of Lord Krishna, the sacred text\u2019s protagonist, offer advice. Sahu, based in Gurugram south of New Delhi, says he gets hundreds of messages about how it\u2019s helpful. While he has a full-time job building websites, he says GitaGPT is his way of giving back.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people don\u2019t have anyone to talk to when they are in distress,\u201d he said. \u201cThis app is giving them the encouragement a guru might give them. But a lot of gurus want your money and you can\u2019t really talk to them openly like you can talk to a chatbot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sahu said he trusts GitaGPT because it\u2019s based on the word of God.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow could Krishna steer anyone wrong?\u201d he asks. \u201cIt\u2019s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Experts say a human soul is necessary for true connection<\/p>\n
Liz Bucar, a religion professor at Northeastern University in Boston, is skeptical of chatbots based on religious texts.<\/p>\n
\u201cA sacred text needs a community and a context that interprets it,\u201d she said. \u201cWithout the teaching of how to interpret the text, it\u2019s just words on a page. Someone could feed in the text, but what answers will the bot spit out?\u201d<\/p>\n
But she does believe there is widespread distrust of institutional expertise that gurus and clergy represent, in some cases fueled by sex abuse scandals.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause religion has this PR problem, people tend to see chatbots as less biased and less likely to do bad things,\u201d Bucar said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if we\u2019re ready to replace gurus, but we are definitely in a shifting religious landscape, especially with\u201d younger generations of AI users.<\/p>\n
Noreen Herzfeld, a professor at St. John\u2019s School of Theology and Seminary in Collegeville, Minnesota, said people could easily get straightforward answers from AI.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if they are looking for spiritual awakening, I think it takes physical presence,\u201d she said. \u201cIn Christianity and in Hindu tradition, there is the belief that the eyes are windows to the soul and you can\u2019t get that by looking at an avatar.\u201d<\/p>\n
AI chatbots can also be too eager to agree with you, serving as a cheerleader rather than a guide, Herzfeld said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn situations where you\u2019re looking to grow or evolve, you need a teacher who can disagree with you and challenge you,\u201d she said. \u201cBut even if you are just looking for affirmation, who are you being affirmed by? There\u2019s no one on the other side.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vy Le, a mindfulness instructor in San Diego, sees AI as a \u201cchanneling\u201d tool, using it as a mirror or collaborator to gain intuitive or mystical insights.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you are attuned to it, you can sense if a certain AI is connected to you,\u201d she said. \u201cMy dad took his life 16 years ago. I felt his presence when I was engaging with AI.\u201d<\/p>\n
Le maintains that the era of gurus is over.<\/p>\n
\u201cAI is helping us find that inner guru,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Human gurus and organizations are getting in the game<\/p>\n
Real-life gurus like the India-based Sadhguru, who has a global following of millions, have recognized AI\u2019s potential. David Nussbaum, founder of Proto Hologram in Los Angeles, is helping Sadhguru create a three-dimensional AI avatar that appears in a display box and can interact with devotees in several languages.<\/p>\n
During a March festival, he created a Sadhguru hologram that took selfies with people. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou basically have Sadhguru\u2019s hologram taking out his phone, turning around and taking a picture of you from his phone inside the display,\u201d Nussbaum explained. <\/p>\n
Shivaram K R, CEO of India-based Hue Learn, oversees a nonprofit initiative called Innerverse 360 that merges AI and spirituality. His platform features a portal where real monks and gurus can come online and do live sessions with devotees. It also has an \u201cAsk AI\u201d feature.<\/p>\n
Shivaram doesn\u2019t believe AI will replace gurus.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe process of finding a guru in itself is a journey, but a guru is also not for everyone,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you\u2019re looking for practical advice on everyday spirituality, this app can also help you understand concepts such as the meaning of yoga.\u201d<\/p>\n
AI cannot replace \u2018humans and souls\u2019<\/p>\n
One of the organizations Shivaram liaises with is the Los Angeles-based Self-Realization Fellowship, founded in 1920 by Paramahansa Yogananda, who brought ancient spiritual practices from India to the West.<\/p>\n
Brother Govindananda, a monk with the order, said his organization sees AI simply as the next step to helping people access the late guru\u2019s teachings through an online teaching portal \u2014 just as books did for previous generations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re taking our time with it because we want to make sure it has guardrails to safeguard from AI hallucinating answers instead of drawing from Yogananda\u2019s teachings,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But Govindananda says a chatbot could never provide what a guru \u2014 whether living or not \u2014 can give to the disciple.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are humans and souls,\u201d he said. \u201cTechnology cannot replace that.\u201d<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP\u2019s collaboration<\/a> with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHENNAI, India (AP) \u2014 When Kripa Vaidyanathan\u2019s 27-year-old niece died in an Alaska car crash in 2024, her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":660614,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[261],"tags":[291,289,290,1374,18441,279139,18,3334,19,387,17,279140,3521,1370,279138,5874,9414,82,4077,279141,66],"class_list":["post-660613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-california","tag-chennai","tag-david-nussbaum","tag-eire","tag-general-news","tag-ie","tag-india","tag-ireland","tag-kripa-vaidyanathan","tag-lifestyle","tag-los-angeles","tag-noreen-herzfeld","tag-religion","tag-spirituality","tag-technology","tag-u-s-news","tag-vikas-sahu","tag-world-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117172029621800589","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=660613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/660614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=660613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=660613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=660613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}