AI and the Future of Buddhist Studies

Welcome and Introduction (Friday 2:30-2:40)

Robert Sharf, UC Berkeley

Panel 1 (Friday 2:40-5:30): Uses of Advanced Computational Methods for the Analysis of Buddhist Texts; Creation and Analysis of Digital Corpora

Chair: Kurt Keutzer, UC Berkeley

Sebastian Nehrdich (UC Berkeley): Dharmamitra Search: Leveraging Multilingual Language Models for Search and Detection of Textual Reuse across Diverse Text Collections

Michael Radich (Heidelberg Centre for Transcultural Studies): A Set of Conceptually Simple Tools and Methods for ‘Android’ Critical Assessment of Ascriptions in the Chinese Buddhist Canon

Jann Ronis (Buddhist Digital Resource Center): Using AI to Transform BDRC’s Massive Archive of Scans into a Dataset for Research and AI Models

Panel 2 (Saturday 9:30-12): Machine Translation of Buddhist Texts

Chair: Alexander von Rospatt, UC Berkeley

Kurt Keutzer (UC Berkeley): Does Buddhist Studies Need an AI Assistant?

Meghan Howard Masang (Yale University): Buddhist Translation Process and Its Construction of Intellectual Culture

Bob Miller (84000): Human Intelligence and Buddha Speech: Agency, Automation, and Knowledge

Panel 3 (Saturday 1:30-6): The Impact of AI on the Training and Work of Buddhist Scholars

Chair: Robert Sharf, UC Berkeley

Marcus Bingenheimer (Temple University): The Impact of Large Language Models (LLMs) on DH Methods in Buddhist Studies

Daigengna Duoer (Boston University): Digital Mapping and the Study of Buddhism in Modern Asian History

John Dunne (University of Wisconsin): The Bodhisattva AI – A Cautionary (Meta-) Tale

James Robson (Harvard): Too Much to Know: Curated Authoritative Research Sources for Buddhist Studies in the 21st Century

Don Lopez (University of Michigan): The Fifth Noble Truth

Kiyonori Nagasaki (International Institute for Digital Humanities): Enhancing Buddhist Scripture Research with Imperfect AI Outcomes: A Case Study of the SAT Text Database