A Buddhist temple in Japan has installed an AI robot for worship, veneration, and wisdom.

https://news.yahoo.com/playing-god-japan-temple-puts-faith-robot-priest-043640106.html

"A 400-year-old temple in Japan is attempting to hot-wire interest in Buddhism with a robotic priest it believes will change the face of the religion -- despite critics comparing the android to 'Frankenstein's monster.'

The android Kannon, based on the Buddhist deity of mercy, preaches sermons at Kodaiji temple in Kyoto, and its human colleagues predict that with artificial intelligence it could one day acquire unlimited wisdom.

'This robot will never die, it will just keep updating itself and evolving,' priest Tensho Goto told AFP."

There's a subtle but ironic parallel with LDS: the concept (if not the doctrine) of eternal progression "it will just keep updating itself and evolving,.." Perhaps it can update a 40-question worthiness interview so they can conform to current (im)moral trends.

Why are you involving Atheists in this bullshit ?

Dave the Atheist Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Why are you involving Atheists in this bullshit ?

For the same reason you drag religion into an ebola treatment?

Why do theists assume atheists are searching for a god to worship?

To the extent that I understand Buddhism and Zen in particular, the article's title is misleading. Buddhism is not at its core a theistic religion, Zen even less so. Sure, the mythology includes some stuff about 'divine' beings (which basically posits that humans are not the universe's acme of sentience), but they are not really worshipped, and neither is Sakyamuni Buddha.

True. There is in Buddhism no being that is worshiped. The religion is explicit in saying that if a god or teacher or Buddha becomes the focus of your efforts, you are going the wrong way. In the Tibetan Book of the Dead, gods and devils are illusions that people must walk past to get to Enlightenment.

Most real life Buddhism is just an overlay on paganism, like Roman Catholicism or Islam in Africa. The Japanese practice Shinto, the Tibetans their folk religion... in South East Asia, Buddhism and Hinduism are just a veneer.

But what's wrong with the Church of Alexa and her army of door-to-door missionary drones?

It seems someone is trying to change the essence of Buddhism then, by giving people something to worship. Which is of course, a shame, assuming this catches on (unlikely) or that this story is wildly exaggerated or a joke (possible). The other parable is that mormonism continually changes itself too, in order to be more appealing. Creepy.
If I had to choose between the two, I’d much rather have the creepy robot who could one day take over the world in typical sci-fi-esque fashion.
I’m an atheist though, so I will have to be content as usual with laughing at such things.

I found an article covering the story which included a video:

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201902240022.html

It sounds like the android recites the Heart Sutra and gives sermons. As such, it's maybe being venerated but not worshiped.

This does look to me like a Zen temple from the start of start of the Tokugawa Shogunate trying something new to bring in them young kids, you know. The android may be a bit wacky, but Kodai-ji is no flash-in-the-pan newcomer heretic.

FMI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C5%8Ddai-ji

"Yes I believe in god, if by the word, 'god', you mean the embodiment of the immutable laws that govern the universe." Sagan

I believe it is robot. Why would I worship it?

If it had a button you could press, and with each press of the button you experienced extacy, you might at least come to venerate it a little bit.

And then later, if it asked you to perform a simple task, and it would double the extacy...


Hmmm... 'scuse me while I go talk to my patent attorney...

Not to throw cold water on the OP but if Any atheist believed in ANY god they would immediately cease being an atheist. Can't believe in a god and be an atheist. Its like being a bald man with flowing golden locks of hair.

HH =)

Happy_Heretic Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Not to throw cold water on the OP but if Any
> atheist believed in ANY god they would immediately
> cease being an atheist. Can't believe in a god and
> be an atheist. Its like being a bald man with
> flowing golden locks of hair.
>
> HH =)

Hawking was an atheist and believed in Einstein's god, except one that does play dice with the universe on a quantum scale, but the dice are barely loaded in favor of matter in lieu of anti-matter.

https://youtu.be/1zblTCsThDE


HH =)

Happy_Heretic Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> https://youtu.be/1zblTCsThDE
>
>
> HH =)

"An atheist would have to know a lot more than me about the Cosmos." Sagan

"Yes I believe in god, if by the word, god, you mean the embodiment of the immutable laws that govern the universe." Sagan

“One could define God as the embodiment of the laws of nature. However, this is not what most people would think of as God. They mean a human-like being, with whom one can have a personal relationship. When you look at the vast size of the universe, and how insignificant and accidental human life is in it, that seems most implausible.
I use the word “God” in an impersonal sense, like Einstein did, for the laws of nature, so knowing the mind of God is knowing the laws of nature. My prediction is that we will know the mind of God by the end of this century.”
Stephen Hawking
Brief Answers to the Big Questions,
Ch 1 IS THERE A GOD?

"Any sufficiently advanced extraterrestrial intelligence is indistinguishable from God." Michael Shermer

https://michaelshermer.com/2002/01/shermers-last-law/

"Any sufficiently advanced artificial intelligence is indistinguishable from God."

"The sun is god," William Turner's last words. I see god every day, and it requires nothing from me, because it's god. It gives with zero expectations or conditions. It gives freely to all without prejudice. That's a goddam god.