The De-centering of the Monk: From Embodied Authority to Programmable Authority

The emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems designed to perform religious functions has created a significant disruption in how moral and spiritual authority is constituted and maintained within Buddhist and broader monastic traditions. This study examines the phenomenon of AI monks, specifically the deployment of humanoid robotic monks and AI-driven religious agents in East Asian Buddhist contexts, and interrogates whether such systems erode or reinforce the moral authority of human religious figures. Drawing on a qualitative systematic review of scholarly literature, institutional reports, and documented public discourse, we argue that the monk’s authority is not primarily propositional but embodied: it is produced through sustained ascetic discipline, relational accountability, and a life visibly oriented toward transcendence. AI systems, however scalable and consistent, are incapable of this embodied formation. The result is not a transfer of authority but its structural disaggregation, separating doctrinal transmission from moral exemplarity. This disaggregation has implications for religious identity, institutional legitimacy, and the sociology of spiritual leadership in digitised societies.