- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Oil extends gains, jobs report lifts Wall Street
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Top EU court finds against FIFA in key transfer market ruling
- Oil extends gains, Hong Kong stocks resume rally
- 'A man provides': Ukrainian miners send families away as Russia advances
- EU states greenlight extra tariffs on EVs from China
- Hong Kong stocks resume rally, oil dips after Middle East-fuelled surge
- Crude stable after Israel-Iran surge, Hong Kong stocks resume gains
- Hera spacecraft to probe asteroid deflected by defence test
- US dockworkers to head back to work after tentative deal
- After Helene's destruction, North Carolina starts to rebuild
- Dockers end three-day strike at Montreal port
- What next for OpenAI after $157 billion bonanza?
- Israel-Hamas war causes 86-percent dive in Gaza GDP: IMF
- Milan's Morata moves house after Inter-fan town mayor 'violates' privacy
- 'Devastating' storm hits Augusta National but Masters will go on
- Relief in Brazil, Asia over delay to EU deforestation rules
- Oil prices jump, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Biden says 'discussing' possible Israeli strikes on Iran oil facilities
- Oil prices rise, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Oil rallies, stocks mostly retreat on Middle East tensions
- Phasing out teen smoking could save 1.2 mn lives: study
- 'Welcome relief': Asia producers hail EU deforestation law delay
- Japan PM slated to announce plans for 'happiness index'
- Turkish inflation falls less than expected in September at 49.4%
- Easing inflation lifts profit at UK supermarket Tesco
- Skiing calls on UN climate science to combat melting future
- China wine industry looks to breed climate resilience
- Tokyo rallies on weak yen, Hong Kong drops after surge
- Dutch airline KLM unveils 'firm' cost-cutting measures
- Carpe diem: the Costa Rican women turning fish into fashion
- Senegal looks to aquaculture as fish stocks dwindle
- Will AI one day win a Nobel Prize?
- Climate change, economics muddy West's drive to curb Chinese EVs
- Argentina's Milei vetoes university budget after huge protests
- TotalEnergies plans to grow oil and gas production until 2030
- 2024 Nobels offer glimmer of hope as global crises mount
'Hey Buddha': Japan researchers create AI enlightenment tool
What is the meaning of happiness? Why not ask AI Buddha, a tool made by Japanese researchers that brings spiritual guidance from ancient scriptures to your smartphone.
The software, co-developed by a team of religion and computing academics at Kyoto University, has been programmed to memorise around 1,000 teachings from Buddhist texts such as the Sutta Nipata and Dhammapada.
Users seeking enlightenment can question a Buddha avatar that pops up on their phone screen.
"Sharpen your observations and explore the various reasons behind the doom. Only then can you experience happiness," was the answer AFP received to the question above.
An augmented reality backdrop shows the pint-sized Buddha sitting cross-legged within the real-life surroundings captured by the device's camera.
And an artificial intelligence dialogue system dubbed "Buddhabot" is behind the tech, which is still in testing stages and not yet available to the general public.
Smartphone meditation apps have become hugely popular worldwide, offering specialised audio for situations from coping with bereavement to getting through a difficult day at work.
The AI Buddha, developed with the help of an IT company, is also intended as a therapeutic distraction from "the increasingly stressful real world", from Covid-19 to the war in Ukraine, said Seiji Kumagai, a key developer of the software at Kyoto University.
"Buddhism scriptures represent the wisdom of ancient times," the Buddhist and Tibetan studies associate professor told AFP.
"Our goal is for people to apply such old wisdom to their lives in this modern society, and seek ways to become happier," he added.
Kumagai said the tool could be a step towards a metaverse-driven spiritual world -- a potential alternative to Japan's many temples, whose numbers are expected to decline because of depopulation.
But before the digital Buddha can be made public, more work is needed to improve grammar and contextual errors which sometimes make its answers nonsensical.
This could be misleading and even dangerous, Kumagai said, warning that in its current form, the software could "steer people on the wrong path".
"What if, for example, people with suicidal thoughts consulted the Buddha avatar... and followed through on that impulse based on what they had been told?"
On Tuesday, a workshop was held at Kyoto University as part of the testing process, with students and faculty members invited to try out the tool.
Yuya Ohara, a 19-year-old student and football fan, asked the Buddha what makes an ideal football player, to which it answered: "Abandon your possessiveness."
"I would've laughed it off if that answer came from my friends," he told AFP.
"But since it was from Buddha, I was more open-minded."
A.Agostinelli--CPN