AI Can Only Replace Basic Mental Functions

It is said that some people have lost their jobs because AI replaced their work, while others find their education useless upon graduation. In such a context, how can one avoid being replaced by AI and stay ahead of it?

A disciple said: AI replaces tasks involving statistical analysis, induction, and similar work, achieving extremely high efficiency. However, when it comes to complex interpersonal communication, human involvement is still necessary. Matters like spiritual practice and realization must be personally undertaken.

Commentary: AI is merely a function of consciousness. It cannot invent, create, or innovate. It can only follow innovators, copying, pasting, organizing, and deducing within the confines of its programming. It cannot transcend the wisdom of innovators; it cannot produce what does not exist in the world. Therefore, for humans to avoid being replaced by AI, they must innovate and develop their own potential.

Tasks like development and innovation absolutely cannot be accomplished by consciousness alone. Even if consciousness can imagine freely, it cannot create the objects of its imagination. The function of innovation and creation belongs uniquely to the manas (root consciousness), supported by the six consciousnesses. AI can copy, paste, and imitate language, text, and physical actions, organizing, classifying, and arranging words. However, human thoughts and emotions cannot be copied or pasted by AI. Perhaps it can imitate them, but what it imitates is not genuine. Therefore, thoughts and emotions originate from the deep, subtle, and hidden manas. AI can only imitate coarse, superficial phenomena. It is impossible for it to completely replace humans by passing off the fake as genuine. Since the manas possesses thoughts, emotions, feelings, and so on, it also contains all the mental factors (caitasika), including afflicted mental factors and wholesome mental factors, fully equipped with all the mental functions a consciousness should possess.

The four steps of the Dharma—hearing, contemplating, practicing, and realizing—can see AI replacing and even surpassing humans in hearing and contemplating. However, it can never achieve practice and realization. This is because hearing and contemplating are functions of consciousness, which are relatively simple and can be copied, imitated, or substituted. But the functions of practice and realization are impossible for AI to possess. A metal machine has no mind—how could it practice, let alone realize? Papiyan (Mara) once entered the Buddha's assembly, heard vast amounts of Dharma, and was capable of hearing and contemplating, possessing extensive knowledge. However, burning with greed, he had no mind to practice or realize. He was akin to AI—perhaps superior to AI—but lacked practice and realization. If Papiyan had practiced and realized, he would not have resorted to countless schemes to destroy the Dharma, obstruct sentient beings from practicing, indulge so deeply in the desires of the desire realm, or commit such grave evils.