Ebook: Buddhism and Intelligent Technology: Toward a More Humane Future

When machine learning, data and AI are reshaping the human experience and forcing us to develop a new ethical intelligence, Peter Hershock gives us a new way to think about attention, presence and ethics in our changing lives by balancing Western technology with Asian philosophy. Rather than turning exclusively to cognitive science and contemporary ethical theories to find answers, Hershock stretches back to ancient philosophical traditions. Applying Confucian and Socratic ethics, he explains how these classical ways of thinking can make visible what a history of choices about remaking ourselves has rendered invisible. But it is in the thought and practices of Buddhism that Hershock finds the practical tools for training our attention and cultivating our morals. Giving us an understanding about the self, consciousness and perfecting personal presence that can be adopted, he introduces us to Buddhist ideas that can be used to protect against a future where we never learn from our mistakes. Hershocks constructive response seamlessly blends ancient Chinese, Indian and Greek philosophy to respond to the challenge of how to stay present during the age of technology.