The Tasks of the Dharma Translator in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19224464 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Daniel McNamara (0000-0002-7059-0910, Center for Buddhist Studies at Kathmandu University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-16 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-03 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Contemporary Buddhism (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1463-9947 • E-ISSN: 1476-7953 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/14639947.2026.2676928 |
| OpenAlex | W7163403859 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 6 |
This article’s title is adapted from Walter Benjamin’s 1921 article ‘The Task of the Translator’, integrating his related ‘The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction’. Taken together, Benjamin’s works demonstrate that AI does not represent a rupture or revolution in dharma translation, though it is one of many important and systematic changes for how such translation takes place. This article considers these alongside a Tibetan Buddhist treatise on the theory and practice of translation, The Gateway to Learning by Sakya Paṇḍita Kunga Gyaltsen (1182–1251). Examining these sources enables us to appraise the state of the art of dharma translation before the age of AI, from the perspectives of both academic and Tibetan scholarship. This allows us to engage our current situation, clearly and fruitfully. Furthermore, this analysis establishes the basic thesis of the present article: that AI is not a revolution – or even necessarily an improvement – when it comes to the Tibetan-English translation of dharma texts
Applications of artificial intelligence · Artificial life · Buddhism · Dharma · Indian and Buddhist Studies · Indian History and Philosophy · Media, Religion, Digital Communication
| Highly cited | No |
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