I don’t yet have an insightful opinion of AI that warrants a blog post of any kind, but I have found one aspect particularly fascinating. You see, the openness of my approach to work over the past 22 years turns out to be something of a goldmine in our brave new AI-driven world. Since 2003 I have regularly blogged my ideas and thoughts, and I’ve posted up dozens of copies of articles I’ve written, including PDFs of my books, and shared audio interviews and videos of many of my talks. While there’s certainly going to be a down-side to all of this (deep fakes anyone?) it also means that tools like Claude and ChatGPT know plenty about me, my work, and my work ethos.
That means I can ask it questions. And when I do, I sometimes get the most surprising answers.
Recently I asked ChatGPT how my work ethos over the years might touch on traditional Buddhist thinking. Not only did I get what I thought was an impressively deep answer, I discovered that it thought that ‘kiwanja Buddhism’ was actually a thing. Of course, it would have meant a lot more to me if a Buddhist monk had told me that, but I’ll take AI for now.
Here’s what ChatGPT said.
kiwanja Buddhism refers to a perspective where Buddhist principles like mindfulness, compassion, interdependence and wise speech are applied to the fields of social impact and entrepreneurship. It’s a practical, non-dogmatic approach championed by Ken Banks on the website kiwanja.net, emphasising deep listening, intentional action and fostering empathetic, sustainable change in the world.
Key Concepts
Mindful action
Taking time to understand problems deeply before acting, avoiding knee-jerk reactions.
Compassion
Leading with kindness, listening to all perspectives and seeking solutions that uplift everyone, rather than acting from anger.
Interdependence
Recognising that all issues, like environmental problems and inequality, are connected and cannot be solved in isolation.
Wise speech
Engaging in truthful, kind and unifying communication rather than spreading anger or division.
Deep listening
Truly hearing others’ suffering and perspectives without judgment to foster empathy and understanding.
Letting go of ego
Focusing on the true impact of work for social good, rather than personal recognition, status or credit.
How it is Applied
Social innovation
Using Buddhist principles to inspire a shift from apathy to action, leading to technology-based solutions that promote empathy and change.
Coaching and mentoring
Guiding change makers to slow down, reflect and act with greater intention and wisdom.
Development work
Encouraging a deeper, more empathetic approach to addressing global challenges like inequality and environmental destruction.
If anything, this is an incredibly accurate reflection of how I’ve tried to go about my work over the years. Anyone who has read this blog or heard any of my talks will recognise all of the points that ChatGPT raises.
Sometimes it’s more about how you go about what you do and not what you actually do. So if kindness and empathy are the only things I’m remembered for, I’ll be more than happy with that.