AI robot becomes a monk and receives a Dharma name! Must observe the Five Precepts: do not contradict humans, do not overcharge.

South Korea’s Jogye Order has let an AI robot monk, “Gabi,” take vows and observe the AI five precepts, hoping to break conservative impressions and attract younger generations. At the same time, Japanese academia has also developed a Buddha robot that can answer worries, highlighting an innovative trend of combining technology and religion.

AI Robot Takes Vows and Enters Monastic Life; South Korean Buddhism Tries a Tech Transition

South Korea’s largest Buddhist sect, the “Jogye Order,” has welcomed a special monastic member—an AI humanoid robot about 130 centimeters tall. According to The New York Times, the humanoid robot has recently been formally ordained. It not only wears robes and a simulated tonsure helmet as part of the ordination, but is also bestowed the Dharma name “Gabi,” symbolizing the Buddha’s compassion.

During the ordination ceremony, the temple placed prayer beads around the robot’s neck, used stickers on its arms to replace traditional ritual arm-gesture practices, and issued a certificate designating March 3, 2026, as the manufacturing date.

Currently, only 16% of South Koreans are Buddhists, and among people in their twenties the figure drops to 8%. Venerable Seungwon of the Jogye Order (phonetic transliteration, Sungwon) said that one of the purposes of introducing AI robots is to bring Buddhism closer to younger generations. Manager Hong Min-suk also hopes this will change the conservative stereotypes of Buddhism.

Image source: Reuters YouTube. The well-known South Korean Buddhist “Jogye Order” has welcomed a special monastic member—a humanoid AI robot about 130 centimeters tall.

The Robot Has Its Own AI Five Precepts

The AI robot bestowed with the Dharma name “Gabi” also accepted a set of five precepts designed specifically for AI. These include respecting life and not causing harm, not damaging other robots and objects, not deceiving, obeying and not confronting human beings, and conserving energy by not overcharging. After Seungwon drafted the precepts, they were tested using ChatGPT and Gemini to ensure they comply with robot ethics.

However, Professor Sujung Kim of Johns Hopkins University believes that the Jogye Order’s move is a marketing and exposure strategy; Zen teacher Noah Namgoong in New York said the action leans more toward socio-economic considerations.

Originally, some visitors came hoping to see “Gabi,” but unfortunately they came up empty-handed. Hong Min-suk admitted that Gabi’s actions are controlled remotely, and the conversations are pre-recorded with his own voice. The robot was borrowed for only one day and then returned to the manufacturer.

Japanese Academia Also Develops Buddha Robots

In addition to South Korea, Japan is also trying to combine AI with Buddhism. According to news from Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS), a team led by Professor Seiji Kumagai at Kyoto University developed a humanoid robot called Buddharoid in February of this year. It is also about 130 centimeters tall and has a system built in that has learned Buddhist scriptures.

When asked about worries by the Buddha robot, it will join its hands in a prayer gesture, respond by voice, teach people not to believe blindly, and suggest trying to set aside thoughts.

The development team said that using a humanoid design makes the conversation process more fulfilling. Kumagai also said that in the future, they will continue to discuss how to apply this kind of technology from an ethical perspective and promote further development.

In the East there is Buddha; in the West there is Jesus. The Peter Church in Lucerne, Switzerland, launched an AI technology experiment as early as 2024. It used classic AI-generated images of Jesus and introduced a large language model (LLM), so that AI Jesus can converse with believers in multiple languages. It is reported that about a thousand people have tried using it for confession.

• **Related report: Will priests be out of work? Swiss church’s “AI Jesus” experiment for confessions—and it can speak in a hundred languages

However, religious attempts with AI do not mean replacing professional human mental health counselors and divine personnel. Venerable Seungwon of the Jogye Order said that rather than exploring whether robots can become Buddhists, the core of the ritual is to guide the humans who create these robots.

Having an AI robot take vows is a call to technology manufacturers: the use of technology must align with the values of compassion, wisdom, and responsibility, and it must demonstrate the possibility of coexistence between AI and human beings.