Generative AI and the Vagueness of Sentience: A Dharmic View

Description

Is AI sentient? I argue the question may not have a clear yes-or-no answer — and that this tells us something profound about the nature of personhood itself. Drawing on the ancient "sorites" paradox, philosopher Derek Parfit's work on personal identity, and the Buddha's own process-based definition of a "sentient being," I argue that personhood is genuinely vague — not all-or-nothing. AI is making this undeniable. Link to my accompanying Substack essay: https://open.substack.com/pub/dougsmith773158/p/when-you-close-a-chat-window-are?r=4gpbiw&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true 🧡 If you find this material useful, check out my Patreon page and get fun benefits like exclusive videos, audio-only versions, and extensive show notes: https://www.patreon.com/dougsseculardharma 🧡 You can also make donations through: https://paypal.me/dougsdharma 📙 Check out my book, A Handbook of Early Buddhist Wisdom, with a Foreword by Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi: https://books2read.com/buddhisthandbook 📖 Index of all my videos: https://dougs-dharma.github.io/dougs-dharma-index/ 🎙Check out my podcast with Jon Aaron, Diggin' the Dharma: https://digginthedharma.com/ ✅ Related videos: Is AI Sentient?: https://youtu.be/bPtuwBgalEU AI Chat and Meditation: https://youtu.be/PFyr3QBnnVY Buddhism and the AI Alignment Problem: https://youtu.be/AIeGdk-adII Mindfulness for Computers?: https://youtu.be/RsOs6DHKhPo The Chariot Simile: https://youtu.be/8_AMrB-HOSg The Problem(s) of Consciousness: https://youtu.be/W1Pn65QZiZs The Surprising Vagueness of the Self: https://youtu.be/PFmF9zuRp2A Derek Parfit and the Buddha: https://youtu.be/jrGpGZTlXAk ✅ Suttas mentioned: SN 5.10 (Vajirā's chariot simile): https://suttacentral.net/sn5.10/en/sujato SN 12.61 (Consciousness arises and ceases): https://suttacentral.net/sn12.61/en/sujato SN 23.2 (Definition of a "being"): https://suttacentral.net/sn23.2/en/sujato AN 3.65 (Kālāma Sutta): https://suttacentral.net/an3.65/en/sujato ✅ Other sources: Claude's Constitution: https://www-cdn.ant