AI-powered robot Buddhist monk unveiled in JapanAFP, TOKYOJapanese researchers have unveiled a robot monk powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that they say can dispense spiritual advice and maybe one day ease shortages of its human counterparts. A Buddhist monk conducts a special prayer meeting at Zojoji Temple in Tokyo on Aug. 9, 2024. The robot is the latest offering from Seiji Kumagai, a professor at the university’s Institute for the Future of Human Society. Using AI models from OpenAI and others, he has worked with engineering firms to develop religious AI chatbots like Buddha Bot and a catechism bot. For his new creation, Kumagai installed his updated “BuddhaBotPlus” on a Chinese-made “Unitree G1” humanoid robot to create the AI robo-monk.

Source: Taipei Times February 25, 2026 17:47 UTC