[The Second Take] The Uneasy Coexistence with AI... The Solution Lies in Eastern Philosophy

Director Garret Edwards' "The Creator":
Maintaining a Precarious Balance
Pursuing Coexistence and Mutual Prosperity through Buddhist Dependent Origination

Humans and digital technology have an uneasy alliance. If the former supervises the latter, there is no cause for concern. But if the opposite occurs, things get complicated. Like in "Terminator 2" (1991), there might be threats transcending time and space. Of course, the possibility of machines developing human-like consciousness is slim. Humans still cannot properly explain how consciousness works. Artificially reproducing it is nonsensical.

Nevertheless, films about creations dominating humans continue to emerge. "Frankenstein" (1931), "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968), "The Matrix" (1999), "I, Robot" (2004), "Prometheus" (2012)... All of them present higher-level desires felt by humans and discuss the discord with technology. The key to resolving conflicts is moral decision-making, a uniquely human activity. Concepts such as fairness and justice are created by humans, making automation impossible.

Director Garret Edwards' "The Creator" overturns conventional wisdom by adopting the concept of brain emulation. In the near future, humans copy the entire neural network structure of the brain and reproduce it on computers to mass-produce artificial intelligence (AI) simulants. The United States identifies them as the main culprits behind dropping a nuclear bomb on Los Angeles and sets out to eliminate them. Leading the charge is former special forces operative Joshua (John David Washington). He infiltrates New Asia, where humans and simulants coexist.

Simulants, perhaps modeled after benevolent humans, possess warmth. They even show a communal bond and affection beyond that of humans. Unlike the U.S., which incinerates them like trash, the humans of New Asia treat them like family. Together, they overcome limits and open a new future. Throughout this process, the core challenge is not innovative technology but the ethics of sustainable coexistence. It emerges as a humanistic intellectual capacity that wisely connects science and spirituality.

At the center lies Eastern philosophy, especially the Buddhist doctrine of dependent origination (Yeon-gi-seol). It holds that nothing exists independently or inherently, and without all conditions and causes, there is no result. It emphasizes causality and interdependence of all phenomena. Professor Heo Nam-gyeol of Dongguk University argued at the academic conference "AI: Blessing or Disaster? - The Pros and Cons of the AI Era and Buddhist Diagnosis" held last July that “Buddhist AI implemented through dependent origination can be an artificial intelligence combining science and spirituality.” He added, “The wisdom of coexistence aligns with the founding purpose and research philosophy of Stanford University's Human-Centered AI Institute and Harvard University's Embedded Ethics Program,” and predicted, “It will establish itself as an ideology pursuing coexistence and mutual prosperity among humans, machines, and all other beings.”

A similar view is advocated in the “A Tentative Study on the Direction of Buddhist Education in the AI Era” proposed by Kim Yuri, a full-time researcher at Dongguk University’s Buddhist Academic Institute, among others. It explains, “One approach to exploring ethical standards for AI in a post-anthropocentric way is posthumanism,” and notes, “This is identical to the perspective in the Buddhist Diamond Sutra that sees organic dependent origination (緣起) relationships.” Director Edwards goes beyond maintaining a precarious balance to even propose love. He suggests that the success or failure of AI may depend on whether it reflects a horizontal ontology. It is a paradox that the direction in which human intelligence leans is more important than technological capability.