(Dis)Entanglement & Meaningful Relationships - Mind & Life Institute

Dialogue 39|Session 3

Overview

Peter Hershock, Anat Perry, and Geshe Lodoe Sangpo, with Kate Nave as facilitator, examined artificial intelligence through interdisciplinary perspectives, emphasizing that AI’s development reflects human choices rather than technological inevitability. Participants highlighted the historical evolution of AI, its scientific achievements, and emerging applications while cautioning against narratives that obscure human agency and responsibility. Drawing on philosophy, cognitive science, and Buddhist thought, participants argued that compassion, interdependence, and attention to vulnerability should guide AI governance and design. The discussion stressed that authentic human relationships, diversity, ethical reflection, and cultural traditions remain indispensable for addressing AI’s societal impacts. Ultimately, the panel advocated human-centered innovation that promotes collective flourishing over technological determinism.

Dialogue 39
7 sessions
October 14, 2025
Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India
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Speakers

Anat Perry is an associate professor at the Psychology department, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the director of the Social Cognitive Neuroscience Lab. Perry studies various facets of empathy and related social processes through the prism of social cognitive neuroscience. Her research combines theoretical insight with a broad set of research techniques in order to elucidate how we understand others, share their emotional experiences and care for them.

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Geshe Lodoe Sangpo enrolled in Gaden Jangtse Monastery in 1992 and has been studying Buddhism ever since. He received his Geshe Lharampa degree in 2018. In addition to his Buddhist studies, he began studying science in 2006 and spent three years at Emory University. He currently serves as the director of the monastery's science center and the associate director of the Thudkham research project. Outside of his academic and research work, Geshe Lodoe Sangpo enjoys trekking in nature, especially through high mountain valleys.

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Kate (Kathryn) Nave is a Leverhulme Trust Early Career Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. Her work focuses on developing a realist account of agency, grounded in the uniquely metabolic existence of living systems, and upon critiquing the machine concept of the mind in light of this distinctive material instability. Her first book, an extended critique of the free energy principle entitled, A Drive to Survive: the Free Energy Principle and The Meaning of Life was published with MIT Press in 2025. Outside academia, she has worked as a science and technology journalist.

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Peter D. Hershock is an intercultural philosopher who makes use of Buddhist resources to reflect on contemporary issues of global concern. He is the author or editor of more than a dozen books, including Valuing Diversity: Buddhist Reflection on Realizing a More Equitable Global Future (2012); Buddhism and Intelligent Technology: Toward a More Humane Future (2021); and Consciousness Mattering: A Buddhist Synthesis (2023). He is an avid cook and daily surfer.

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