When I was watching the news one evening, a surprising headline appeared on my screen. “Robots can teach people the true essence of Buddhism.”
I currently live in the Netherlands, but in Japan, you can see robots in many public places. In Japan, robots appear in libraries, restaurants, shopping malls, and more.
Because of the country’s labor shortage, it is no longer surprising to see robots serving food in restaurants, especially in big cities. For the digital generation, using robots in restaurants has become almost unconscious: tap the screen, wait for the dish to arrive, take the food, and tap again.
In a way, this is no different from how we use our phones. Japanese society has grown accustomed to robots- they are simply part of daily life.
But when robots appear in religion, the impact feels very different. Ordering food is transactional, but prayer is intimate and existential. When I saw the Android Kannnon of the temple in Kyoto, I was shocked. Robots in religion? What happened?
According to the Kodai temple, the Android Kannon Minder is a humanoid robot statue of Kannon Bodhisattva located at Kodaiji Temple, a Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture. It was created to spark new interest in Buddhism and provide peace of mind for people today.
Santo is not a replacement for a priest but a companion in prayer. One woman interviewed even called it “catholic Alexa”. Some people believe that anything that brings you close to god is a good thing. They arugue that robots can “think forever”, and AI can make people feel closer to spirituality. Others, however, feel that the use of robots in religion is sacrilegious.
Of course, religious robots are still rare, and churches or temples that use them face criticism. However, sincethey havealready been introduced in several religious contexts, we need to think about what this means. AI in religion is not limited to physical robots. For example, apps that help Muslims pray have been downloaded by hundreds of millions, and the Vatican launched a rosary bracelet that tracks prayers. Looking ahead, people might begin to worship machines, or AI might dominate people’s spiritual live
So here is the real question: Can AI satisfy people’s spiritual needs? Does human speech no longer resonate with us in contemporary society? Is anything that brings us closer to God automatically a good thing? If anything could bring us to God, then even a water bottle, a picture, music, food, or even a weapon could become a spiritual too. These questions push us to think not only about the possibility of AI dominating human beings but also what religion truly means, what faith gives us, and why AI and robots are treated differently from ordinary objects in a religious context. Even if you do not believe in God or practice a religion, you can still find cultural or spiritual meaning in your daily life through art, rituals, or community. These questions might be big, but perhaps that is exactly why robots in religion matter. They challenge us to rethink not only technology but also the deepest aspects of human belief.
Souces:
https://ebooks.iospress.nl/DOI/10.3233/FAIA220626
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzZ_DqwCymU
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/mindar-android-buddhist-priest-japan
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