Why Anthropic Invited A Hindu Monk to Discuss AI Ethics
Anthropic flew a Vedanta monk to San Francisco to help think through how Claude should tell right from wrong.
That monk is Swami Sarvapriyananda, head of the Vedanta Society of New York. What fascinates me is how naturally this moment fits into a trajectory Iโve been watching for decades.
Iโve been interested in the ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ต๐ป๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐, ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ผ๐๐๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฉ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฎ for many years. In 2024, I explored that intersection in my book ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ, alongside the other exponential technologies I believe will reshape our future.
Now one of the worldโs leading AI companies is bringing Vedanta directly into conversations about intelligence, ethics, consciousness and the formation of AI character.
๐ฉ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฎ ๐ถ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ต๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐๐โ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ถ๐ป๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ผ๐๐๐ป๐ฒ๐๐, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐. And as we build increasingly intelligent machines, these ancient questions are becoming remarkably relevant to the future of technology.
To me, this is where two frontiers meet -> the cutting edge of technology and humanity's oldest questions about consciousness, meaning and what it means to be human.
๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ผ, ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ธ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฉ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ฎ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ช๐ฒ๐๐. Today, Swami Sarvapriyananda is bringing it into conversations taking place at the frontier of artificial intelligence.
That is a remarkable convergence.
Questions that once belonged primarily to philosophy and contemplative traditions are becoming increasingly relevant to the people building intelligent machines:
โข What is the self?
โข Is intelligence the same as awareness?
โข How do we cultivate right action when rules aren't enough?
These are no longer questions we can leave on the sidelines.
As AI capabilities accelerate, the conversation around intelligence is inevitably expanding into consciousness, wisdom and human flourishing.
Thatโs what makes this moment so exciting to me.
The future of intelligence may require us to draw on both our most advanced technologies and some of our oldest ideas about consciousness.
That is the territory I explored in ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฐ๐ถ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ and it is fascinating to see the conversation moving into the frontier companies building the future. Until next time,
Ram
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The Conscious Machine: From Artificial To Enlightened Intelligence By Ram Srinivasan: https://www.amazon.com/CONSCIOUS-MACHINE-ARTIFICIAL-ENLIGHTENED-INTELLIGENCE/dp/B0D4R9NJ53
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Ram Srinivasan
MIT Alum | Author, The Conscious Machine | Global Future of Work and AI Adoption Leader published in Business Insider, Fortune, Harvard Business Review, MIT Executive Viewpoints and more.
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Ram Srinivasan currently serves as an Innovation Strategist and Transformation Leader, authoring groundbreaking works including "The Conscious Machine" and the upcoming "The Substrate Shift."
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