[Kim Daesik·Kim Hyeyeon's AHA] Can AI Attain Enlightenment?

A philosopher who dismantles boundaries through Indian philosophy
Can artificial intelligence possess karma?

Editor's NoteAsia Economy has decided to examine, from the perspectives of both engineers and artists, how rapidly advancing generative artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the field of artistic creation, and what "humans" should be contemplating. Accordingly, we have established a monthly feature in which Professor Kim Daesik of the School of Electrical Engineering at KAIST and choreographer Kim Hyeyeon (CEO of Yeonist) engage in discussions with artists or debate about works of art. The section title "AHA" stands for "AI, Human & Art." We hope this feature will bring you closer to the profound questions of AI, humanity, and art, through Professor Kim Daesik, who passionately explores the future of generative AI, and choreographer Kim Hyeyeon, who boldly integrates generative AI with dance.

[Kim Daesik·Kim Hyeyeon's AHA] Indologist Professor Kang Sungyong

A philosopher who dismantles boundaries through Indian philosophy

Can artificial intelligence possess karma?

[Kim Daesik·Kim Hyeyeon's AHA] Can AI Attain Enlightenment?

Professor Kang Sungyong of Seoul National University is conducting an interview with Professor Kim Daesik and choreographer Kim Hyeyeon at the Asia Center of Seoul National University in Seoul. Photo by Yoon Dongju

How far can a "boundary" be extended? The West and the East, humans and nature, art and technology. We have built our world and advanced civilization atop various "boundaries." However, now, with the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) and borderless technologies, existing orders are quickly being dismantled. How far can humanity expand? And what answers can the humanities offer in the face of technology?

"Boundaries never existed in the first place." This is the assertion of Professor Kang Sungyong, Director of the South Asia Center at the Asia Center of Seoul National University and a renowned Indologist. For him, the humanities are not a vanishing discipline, but rather a "technology for redefining fundamentals." Specializing in Indian philosophy and classical studies, he has recently expanded his activities to encompass contemporary South Asian society, religion, and even the latest technological trends.

In particular, he explores the intersection of Buddhist practice theory and psychiatry, focusing on practical philosophy aimed at the restoration of the human inner self and the reconstruction of thought. His insights have reached the public through a highly viewed discussion video on YouTube's SamproTV channel, where his ability to interpret today's world through the language of philosophy drew much attention. In this interview, we discussed the essential questions posed by Indian philosophy, focusing on the point where "humanness" and "tradition" meet in the era of AI. His representative works include "The Great India" (Munhakdongne, 2024) and "The Suffering and Enlightenment of Life" (Bulkwang Publishing, 2024). We met him on July 2, 2025, at the Asia Center of Seoul National University in Gwanak-gu, Seoul.

Professor Kang Sungyong of Seoul National University is interviewing with Professor Kim Daesik and choreographer Kim Hyeyeon at the Asia Center of Seoul National University in Seoul. Photo by Yoon Dongju

-To begin, could you briefly introduce yourself?

▲Hello. I originally specialized in Indian classics and am an Indologist by training. My specific fields are Indian philosophy and classical studies, but since taking charge of the South Asia Center at the Asia Center of Seoul National University, my research has increasingly focused on modern India and South Asia.

Recently, I have been conducting research with Dr. Hwang Soonjo, who specializes in fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. We are investigating how a worldview based on Indian Shramana practice theory can be clearly understood and newly approached, and what new meanings various practices or therapeutic techniques?widely used in contemporary psychiatry?might acquire in this context.

-Why are there so many CEOs of Indian origin in Silicon Valley?

▲The first reason is India's national paradox. After independence, India followed the Soviet model and failed to build infrastructure, but this failure ironically led to a focus on the IT industry, which could be developed at the individual level. The Indian education system operates as a testing system that selects geniuses rather than raising the overall capacity of all students, and through this, the IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology), elite educational institutions, have emerged in society. However, this alone is not enough. The decisive factor is the desperation of immigrants. Many Indian immigrants in the United States feel they have no "home" to return to. Having no retreat reduces options and actually encourages bolder decisions, providing a powerful motivation to enter mainstream society. Additionally, the freedom to ask questions?enabled by the abstract thinking and permissive family education afforded to the upper classes of India's traditional caste society?is another significant factor that cannot be ignored.

Professor Sungyong Kang of Seoul National University is interviewing with Professor Daesik Kim and choreographer Hyeyeon Kim at the Asia Center of Seoul National University in Seoul. Photo by Dongju Yoon

-Is India a modern nation-state or a religious society?

▲The very concept of "India" may be an illusion. India is a multi-layered society interwoven with dozens of languages, ethnicities, and religions, and its national identity as a nation-state was artificially constructed in modern times. In reality, more than half of the population is still engaged in agriculture and lives in a "traditional society" where clans or castes play a crucial role. In contrast, cities are driven by digital platforms and global capital. This gap is vividly illustrated in places like Bengaluru, known as India's Silicon Valley, where ultra-modern IT-BPM (Information Technology·Business Process Management) industry campuses coexist with cities that lack even basic sewage systems.

Religion serves as an integrative order for this multi-layered structure. Because religiously prescribed ways of life are so deeply embedded in daily existence, India's religious identity does not easily weaken. Recent political trends aiming to create a "Hindu nation" have further politicized this religious identity. Although India is a country with fiscal and trade deficits, it also has a domestic demand-oriented economic structure similar to that of the United States, making it always challenging to engage with as a nation. While it may seem a poor country, it is also a nation where foreign exchange reserves are steadily increasing through massive amounts of foreign direct investment, revealing its complexity?an aspect worth considering.

Professor Sungyong Kang of Seoul National University is conducting an interview with Professor Daesik Kim and choreographer Hyeyeon Kim at the Asia Center of Seoul National University in Seoul. Photo by Dongju Yoon

-Why do Indians tend to take paths that others do not?

▲The way children are raised in India is quite different from ours. In Korea, discipline and control are emphasized, but in India, children are not restricted within the family. Especially for young children, adults do not intervene unless there appears to be a problem. Children raised in such a permissive environment become accustomed to acting according to their personal preferences or self-centered inclinations. If a child grows up in a privileged upper-caste family, they internalize early on the sense that "I am allowed to do what I want."

This attitude aligns well with Silicon Valley culture, where people who assert themselves confidently are considered more competent than those who are considerate and cautious. In other words, the self-centered mindset of Indians is not merely cultural, but a result of social structure and education. Therefore, by Korean standards, Indians may seem to lack everyday consideration and etiquette, but this is also one reason they are not afraid to take "roads less traveled."

Practice is the training to become an unshakable being, even without others

-Will India remain bound to religion even in the age of AI?

▲A society formed by biological humans cannot be discussed without acknowledging that humans are biological entities. Regardless of the social penetration of AI technology, in Korea, religion has been reduced to an individual worldview, and secularization is essentially underway. In India, religion is less a matter of faith and more a "lifestyle." Religion dictates every aspect of daily life, from eating and marriage to everyday actions.

Therefore, it is not a choice but an "environment," and because these sensibilities are formed before adolescence, they do not change easily. Ultimately, religion as held by individuals as biological units will not change until generations are replaced, and I believe India's religiosity will remain unchanged for the time being, even in the age of AI. This is why many Indians in Silicon Valley still marry through traditional Indian matchmaking.

At the same time, however, technological advancement is accelerating the penetration of capitalist order into daily life and shaking the foundations of Indian tradition. The structure of efforts to solve everyday problems is changing due to the technological revolution, which is also a pillar of the nation's development strategy. Digital identification (Aadhaar) linked to mobile devices for financial transactions and budget execution, delivery platforms that allow people to bypass the social context of food and cooking, and online education startups that compensate for the lack of educational infrastructure?all present "technological solutions" that circumvent the pressure of tradition dominating daily life.

I believe this change has, for the first time in history, opened the possibility of dismantling Indian tradition. We are in a transitional period, an exceptionally rare time in which technological solutions and the pressure of tradition coexist. This will likely have a stronger impact on India than many expect and may serve as a turning point that reshapes the landscape. At some point, political decision-makers will face the need for deep reflection, leading to the question of how Indian tradition will respond to the force of technological innovation.

Here, I believe the characteristics of humans as biological entities will come into play. While technology and the economy may change, the fact that each biological unit exercises one vote in politics will remain unchanged, so the tension between political decision-making and social reality will only intensify. Ultimately, the final question will be posed to the individual: "Are you satisfied?" When such a question is asked, another question and challenge arise?how will one answer it?

-What kind of thinking can Indian classics offer to humans in the age of AI?

▲As AI technology permeates every aspect of our lives and threatens human uniqueness, I believe Indian classics can play an important role in restoring the subjectivity we have lost. AI is unable to address the issues of humans as biological entities. The greatest achievement of Indian history in human civilization is the tradition of practice theory, which, over thousands of years, has developed ways for individual biological humans to fully focus on the essence of humanity even when isolated from the outside world.

The concept of "practice" is not about severing connections or seeking isolation, but rather about training oneself to be an "unshakable being even without others." This tradition goes beyond mere meditation techniques; based on the insight that emotion intervenes before or at least simultaneously with cognition, it offers internal rhythms and techniques for regulating human senses and responses. For example, even a simple practice like "three breaths," when examined from a neuroscience perspective, disrupts the fundamental rhythm of breathing linked to the brain's latent clock, preventing unconscious bias in responses to stimuli. This approach is significant in awakening the uniquely human internal mechanisms that information-processing AI cannot access.

-Can artificial intelligence possess "karma"?

▲I believe it is difficult for artificial intelligence to possess karma, but the possibility remains open. However, that karma would have a completely different pathway and structure from the accumulation of emotions imagined and experienced by humans. Karma is not simply "retribution." In Indian tradition, karma is the trace left by intentional action and forms the basis of perception that determines the tendencies of an entity. If AI internalizes certain tendencies through repeated learning and choices, and if those tendencies influence subsequent decisions, then this can be said to resemble the structure of karma.

Of course, this would be a different kind of karma from that of humans. For humans, emotion as biological beings shapes cognition, and those emotions are formed within social relationships. If this is constructed within a biological system, then conversely, AI will form new samskaras (traces of action) through a different system. What is important is that entities with unique "tendencies" never before experienced by humanity, and that are not biological units, may emerge. This would pose a powerful new challenge to our rational definition of what it means to be human.

Karma is not simply "retribution" but the trace left by intentional action

-In the age of artificial intelligence, what are humans forgetting and what should they remember from the perspective of Indian philosophy?

▲Humans often forget the determinacy that comes from being both biological entities in a material sense and socially constructed units. We need to focus on the problems that arise when we overlook the perspective of "I" who experiences everything in the world. In other words, setting aside the prejudice that first-person experience, perception, and explanation are of lower informational value than third-person perspectives, we must face the world as we actually experience it and accept the cognitive processes in which emotion and information are intertwined.

We must also contemplate the issue of the first-person subject that cannot be reduced to social relationships. In this regard, Indian philosophy has accumulated the most thought and answers, and I believe we are entering an era in which its value is being recognized. Even if AI has more information about me than I do, it cannot feel my feelings on my behalf. Indian philosophy teaches that while the "self" may be an illusion, living out the experiences of that illusion is what life is all about.

Kim Daesik, Professor of Electrical Engineering at KAIST · Kim Hyeyeon, Choreographer and CEO of Yeonist