On July 21, Most Ven. Jinwoo, the president of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, met with Ha Jeong-woo, former Senior Secretary for AI Future Planning at the Blue House. During the meeting, Most Ven. Jinwoo proposed “AI Dharma Propagation” as a keyword for responding to the era of artificial intelligence. He emphasized that the Order’s role is to incorporate the Buddha’s teachings into AI and train it to guide people toward liberation from suffering.

On that day, the Jogye Order hosted a public lecture featuring former Senior Secretary Ha at the Traditional Culture Performance Hall of the Korean Buddhist History and Culture Memorial Hall. Before the lecture began, the president of the Order spoke with former Senior Secretary Ha about the future of Korean Buddhism in the AI era, emphasizing the importance of Buddhism's leadership in this new era.

During the talk, Most Ven. Jinwoo stressed that AI should be seen as part of the process of civilizational development. He emphasized that how the technology is used is more important than the technology itself. “AI is a technology with both advantages and disadvantages,” he said. “We must do our best for the greater good while maintaining an attitude that does not become fixated on the results.” 

Most Ven. Jinwoo went on to say that AI should be utilized as a core foundation for future missionary work. He highlighted the need for the Buddhist order to build a systematic database of Buddhist teachings and accumulate content. "We must ensure that AI is thoroughly trained in Buddhism's vast body of teachings," said the president of the order. "Helping many people easily encounter Buddhism through AI and guiding them to find the path to liberation from suffering is an important role the Buddhist order must play in the future."

Meanwhile, during the lecture that followed, former Senior Secretary Ha Jeong-woo remarked, “Buddhism is quite far ahead of other religions, both domestically and internationally, in terms of AI utilization.” He also suggested that AI could be used to provide accessible explanations of difficult sutras or to support meditation and mindfulness practices.