Śrī AI Uvāca – When AI Replaces Realisation in Vaiṣṇava Writing

Dear Gaura Gopāla Prabhu-jī,
I recently read a few articles on a vaiṣṇava website, and it was obvious that some of the devotees had generated the majority of their articles using AI. I feel that using AI to write spiritual articles is a bit impersonal and also somewhat soulless, but I’d like to know what you think about this.

Your servant, _______

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Dear_____

Hare Kṛṣṇa.

Let me start by saying that in the age of AI generated content, where imagery, videos, voice clones, and text have flooded into popular media around the world, it should be of no surprise that the Vaiṣṇava world is also dipping its toes into this technology.

As with any technological leap in the 20th and 21st centuries, generative AI has its uses for serious purposes, such as editing, researching, and speeding up repetitive tasks. It is a tool, just like anything else. However, as with any other tool, if it’s misused, it becomes obvious that the product is not genuine, or at least not coming from the heart and mind of the author. This is particularly true for AI generated articles on Vaiṣṇava siddhānta and translations of Gauḍīya literature. This is where it becomes an issue of AI vs personal realisation.

The first problem with this type of material is that it’s just plain laziness on the part of the so-called ‘author.’ For the most part, one could argue that it belongs in the same category as blatant plagiarism and other problematic behaviour in the realm of the written word.

For example, you may read essays written by a particular devotee for years, and through that, you get some idea of their unique way of expressing the philosophy. Then suddenly, one fine day, they write something that sounds totally different – something that reads like it leapt out from the pages of the Encyclopedia Britannica; an article filled with dry definitions of philosophical ideas and big words that they never used before. This is typical of AI generated content: it’s matter-of-fact, highly generic, verbose, and lacks distinct viewpoints based on the knowledge, or realisation, of a living author. To be honest, there are some living authors whose writing is so boring and uninspired that it should be ranked right alongside AI generated content, but that’s beside the point.

On a surface level, you could say that AI generated writings lack the unique voice of the author. The natural fingerprints of the writer are not present when content is generically generated on any subject and pasted onto some website that is supposed to be representing the teachings of their Guru Mahārāja and the finer points of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava philosophy. On a deeper level, we could say that the ātma and Paramātmā are not involved in the creation of such articles, which are supposed to be based on inspiration and realisation – two hallmarks of genuine Vaiṣṇava literature.

Anything generated by a machine can never elicit the same positive response seen in the inspired writings of our Vaiṣṇava ācāryas. The fact is that even the written word alone is not enough for us. Writing is meant to increase our faith enough to come into contact with sat-sādhu-saṅga and take advantage of the personal association of those who are living and breathing Kṛṣṇa consciousness. If anything, AI generated text is another step further away from the source of our faith.

The fact of the matter is that such content, because of the ease with which it can be generated, will become an increasingly inflated currency as time goes on. There is so much of this content out there already, giving answers to questions that no one asked. Devotees who create this type of content, passing it off as their own writing or realisation are doing so merely for the sake of pratiṣṭhā (increasing their prestige) – “I’m not inspired enough to do any research, or write anything based on my own realisations, so I’ll have AI write something that makes me sound smarter than I am.”

Perfect grammar, big words, and knowledge of Sanskrit are not the hallmarks of great devotees. Faith, humility, and service to Śrī Guru and the Vaiṣṇavas will provide any devotee with so much inspiration that they won’t be able to stop speaking and writing about Kṛṣṇa conscious topics.

As the world becomes over-saturated with machine-generated content, sincere devotees will increasingly appreciate the inspired written and spoken words of living sādhus. I wouldn’t be discouraged by such content floating around the internet – just be aware that it exists. To that end, there are dozens of tools being created to detect AI generated content. Ultimately, the best tool at our disposal is to see whether we feel inspired to go deeper into our spiritual lives after reading or hearing something. In the words of Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja, “Faith comes from faith.” People cannot give what they themselves do not have to begin with. Inspiration is born from contact with inspired people and ideas, and faith is born from being in contact with the faithful.

I would go so far as to say that those who lack true faith in Śrī Guru and the Vaiṣṇavas will never be able to speak or write anything that inspires others to take up this path of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Hoping this meets you well.

Gaura Gopāla Dāsa

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