Monastic institutions in Bhutan will soon test an AI-based chatbot, BuddhaBot Plus, designed to provide responses based on Buddhist teachings.

This pilot program, a collaboration among Bhutan’s Central Monastic Body, Kyoto University, and Japan’s Teraverse Co. Ltd., involves 200 monks and will roll out fully by 2027.

The chatbot, developed in 2021 with a Japanese dataset and later enhanced with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, completed its English version in 2023.

The trial will include monks and nuns from institutions like Tango Buddhist College and the Institute of Science of Mind.

Over six months, officials will assess its effectiveness before expanding access.

Bhutan is the first nation outside Japan to test this English version.

Professor Seiji Kumagai of Kyoto University noted that this innovation could reshape engagement with Buddhist teachings and have applications in interfaith dialogue and knowledge management.

While the project aims to enhance Buddhist education, concerns about data reliability and ethical issues have emerged.