Artificial Wisdom
Probably because I consume a lot of Eastern philosophy on YouTube, it has been feeding me talks from some of my favorite Zen teachers, like Alan Watts – I even found ad-free lectures of him that run for 3 hours straight – and Thich Nhat Hanh (also known as Thay or teacher).
Increasingly, I’m getting their AI versions.
You know how you start to listen to a recording, then after a few words or an odd turn of phrase you realize this is AI? You hear the person’s voice, the content sounds sort of legit, but something’s off. The cadence and rhythm feel unnatural, the pauses forced. I disliked one AI Thay for being too prescriptive. It didn’t push you to think for yourself and gave facile responses instead of doing the Buddhist thing: engaging the question without judgement, sitting with it, even – especially – when it is uncomfortable. And because Alan Watts blends Eastern spirituality with classical Western thought, his AI doppelgänger can sound too self-helpy and New Agey. Watered down. In one of Alan Watts’s AI talks, what got me was it could not distinguish between “content” the noun vs the adjective. Another one mixed up the verb and adjective versions of “perfect”. Alan Watts would never do that. Annoying.
To avoid AI shenanigans, nowadays I listen to the teachings from their original sources. For Thay, I go directly to the Plum Village website. For Alan Watts, I listen to the podcast Alan Watts Being in the Way, hosted by his son Mark Watts. Mark has done an outstanding job preserving his father’s original recordings (with interesting titles like Zen Reconsidered, Philosophy of the Tao and Joyous Cosmology) from as far back as the 1950s, complete with summary notes and bullet points outlining important themes. An incredible legacy and a true labor of love.
Love or hate?
While our human wisdom traditions have real depth and truth, I surprised myself for enjoying some of the diluted AI stuff, which was certainly easier to digest. I suppose credit should go to the live human who was skilled enough to feed the AI beast the right raw materials for the finished product to come out more or less true to the original. But, just like blitzing a chunky stew into a creamy soup, what you gain in digestibility, you lose in texture, flavor and complexity.
I admit that some of the YouTube AI-generated Alan Watts talks are pithy, with the tone of the original still coming through. There are some good nuggets that might compel you to write down a point. But after a while, you notice they are repetitive and sound like a series of quotable quotes. Also, the AI versions don’t capture the way Alan Watts moves seamlessly from Confucianism and Hindu philosophy to Western mythology and Jungian symbolism. They lack his colorful descriptions of this gritty, messy thing we call life; his sharp wit and humor; his spontaneous bursts of laughter.
For better or worse
With all its pitfalls and breakthroughs, we are now collectively resigned to the reality that AI is here to stay. I often get asked whether I worry that AI could replace psychotherapists. After all, a 2025 Harvard Business Review article lists the top use of generative AI as therapy and companionship. My answer? Not really. When used properly, AI has its place in mental health, just like it does in other fields and professions. I believe there will always be a place for real human interactions. Our mammalian brains are wired for creature-to-creature connection with others; our evolution as a species has depended on it (and still does). I think good psychotherapists will continue to have value and relevance in the AI age.
Here is an interesting discussion from the NPR Podcast On Point about mental health and AI.
As we grapple with complex ideas and ontological questions using AI, it’s up to us whether our AI encounters will be enriching or disastrous. I believe this depends on our ability to think critically for ourselves, recognize AI’s gifts and limitations, and remain conscious in our engagement with it. Like any significant shift in our evolution, it’s both exciting and scary. And like any evolution process, there will be casualties.
I wonder what AI has to say about that…
Photo by Igor Omilaev on Unsplash