Accelerating AI Ethics

This conversation was recorded in March this year in McLeod Ganj, near Dharamsala, India, during a trip by Dr Caroline Emmer de Albuquerque Green https://www.oxford-aiethics.ox.ac.uk/caroline-emmer-de-albuquerque-green , Director of Research at the Institute for Ethics in AI, together with Ambassador Audrey Tang https://afp.oxford-aiethics.ox.ac.uk/people/ambassador-audrey-tang and their collaborator Tenzin Yangtso, to learn from the Tibetan Buddhist community about their approach to the ethics of AI.

In this episode, Caroline is joined by Geshe Lodoe Sangpo, a Tibetan Buddhist monk born in Tibet who came to India in 1992 and has since studied Buddhist philosophy and spiritual practice at Ganden Jangtse Monastery in South India. From 2006 he began studying science alongside his monastic training and today he teaches science to fellow monastics while collaborating on several research projects, including work on lucid dreaming and Dream Yoga, and the "Tukdam" project, which investigates a rare meditative state observed in highly advanced practitioners at the time of death.

Geshe Lodoe Sangpo explains what it takes to earn the title of Geshe: a demanding academic and spiritual journey spanning logic and epistemology, the vast Prajnaparamita texts, Madhyamaka (Middle Way) philosophy, Abhidharma, and monastic discipline, followed by six years of board examinations. He describes the three levels of Buddhist study - becoming well informed, testing that knowledge through critical reflection until real conviction takes hold, and finally internalising it through daily practice - and how this shapes his view of AI.

At the heart of the conversation is a question the Institute keeps returning to: can a machine ever be compassionate? Geshe Lodoe Sangpo is doubtful. As he puts it, information is not happiness, and compassion is "not a skill" but "a way of being" - something that has to be felt and lived rather than assembled from data. He and Caroline discuss an analogy he shared from a conversation with Audrey Tang that morning: sending a robot to the gym on your behalf might raise your score, but it will not strengthen your own muscles - and outsourcing emotional and cognitive effort to AI carries the same risk for human growth.

The two also explore interdependence, one of the foundational concepts in Tibetan Buddhism, and how it connects to the Institute's work on Civic AI: smaller, contextualised AI systems designed to serve specific communities rather than concentrate power. Geshe Lodoe Sangpo reflects on how learning about Civic AI shifted his own outlook on technology, from wariness to cautious hope, provided that AI remains a tool for building healthier human relationships rather than a substitute for the inner work that compassion requires.

Read more about the wider trip to Dharamsala, including the delegation's audience with His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama: https://www.oxford-aiethics.ox.ac.uk/news/insights-ethics-ai-dr-caroline-greens-trip-dharamsala-india

To find out more about the Institute's work on Civic AI, visit: https://civic.ai/

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In this podcast, Communications and Liaison Manager of the Institute for Ethics in AI, Cristina Bratu, speaks with Dr Caroline Emmer de Albuquerque Green, Director of Research at the Institute for Ethics in AI, about her trip to India: exploring Buddhist ethics, Civic AI and compassion, meeting the Dalai Lama and how human values can guide ethical AI in a changing world.

In March this year, Dr Caroline Emmer de Albuquerque Green https://www.oxford-aiethics.ox.ac.uk/caroline-emmer-de-albuquerque-green , Director of Research and Head of Public Engagement at the Institute for Ethics in AI, spent a week in Dharamsala, India, together with Ambassador Audrey Tang https://afp.oxford-aiethics.ox.ac.uk/people/ambassador-audrey-tang , Senior Accelerator Fellow at the Institute for Ethics in AI and their collaborator Tenzin Yangtso, to learn from the Tibetan Buddhist community about their approach to the ethics of AI.

Guided by two Buddhist scholars, Geshe Lodoe Sangpo and Geshe Thabke, the small delegation aimed to explore how Buddhist ethics can inform some of the biggest questions in the ethics of AI. They visited local communities and groups, including the Dolma Ling Nunnery, the Library of Tibetan Works & Archives and a local care home for older Tibetan refugees.
Highlights of the trip included Caroline and Tenzin Yangtso meeting His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. They obtained what is understood to be his first public statement on AI ethics. His response to their question on how AI can serve humanity, he responded:

'Although these [referring to AI systems] may have many functions, ultimately it depends on the human mind. Therefore, no matter how sophisticated they become, they cannot keep up with the pace of the human mind… For instance, my own thoughts are changing moment by moment.’

Read more about the relevance of religion for AI ethics: Expert Comment: Faith meets code - the growing role of theology for AI ethics - https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2026-04-24-expert-comment-faith-meets-code-the-growing-role-of-theology-for-ai-ethics

Another highlight was the delegation’s visit to Monlam IT, to see how this team of computer scientists are using AI to preserve the Tibetan language. Caroline’s visit to Tong-Len School, opened by Geshe Jamyang in 2017 to educate the children of some of the poorest families in the region, left a particular mark on her.
The trip has heavily informed Ambassador Audrey Tang’s and Dr Caroline Emmer de Albuquerque Green’s work on ‘Civic AI’ and the ‘6 pack-of-care'.

To find out more about their work, visit: civic.ai https://civic.ai/

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In this episode Dr Caroline Green from Oxford's Institute for Ethics in AI speaks to Professor Alondra Nelson about the social foundations of AI governance and thick alignment, a broader approach to aligning artificial intelligence with human values. Professor Nelson reflects on her interdisciplinary career bridging science, social research, and policy, including her role in developing the White House Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights. She discusses how public engagement, trust, and clear communication are essential for ensuring that AI systems serve society rather than deepen existing inequalities.
Together, they explore the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in AI ethics and governance, highlighting the risks of deploying powerful technologies without meaningful public dialogue. The conversation examines emerging challenges such as emotional relationships with AI chatbots, the role of governments and companies in shaping responsible innovation, and how inclusive policymaking can help align AI development with democratic values and the public good.

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In this episode Dr Caroline Green from Oxford's Institute for Ethics in AI speaks to Dr Joy Buolamwini and Angela Oduor Lungati, Executive Director of Ushahidi, about building ethical, community-centered AI from Africa and beyond. Angela discusses her work leading Ushahidi, an open-source platform used globally to crowdsource crisis and human rights data, and how community-generated knowledge can shape more inclusive and context-aware AI systems.Joy reflects on her journey from uncovering bias in facial recognition systems to founding the Algorithmic Justice League, sharing how her research - featured in the documentary Coded Bias - exposes the social harms embedded in AI.
Together, they explore women’s leadership in technology, the importance of grassroots voices in shaping AI governance, and the need for data justice, language representation, and accountability across the AI supply chain. The conversation highlights Kenya’s national AI strategy, Africa’s growing role as a builder - not just consumer - of AI, and the environmental and labour impacts of AI infrastructure. The episode closes with reflections on creativity, humanity, and the role of art in guiding responsible innovation.

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In this episode of Accelerating AI Ethics from Oxford’s Institute for Ethics in AI, Dr Caroline Green speaks with Professor Ignacio Cofone, Professor of AI Law and Regulation, about his book The Privacy Fallacy: Harm and Power in the Information Economy.
They discuss why today’s consent-based privacy laws are ill-suited to an AI-driven data economy, how data harms are often relational rather than individual, and why focusing on data use - rather than data collection - is key to preventing exploitation while enabling innovation. The conversation also explores power dynamics in the tech ecosystem, harm liability, and what meaningful reform of data protection law could look like in the age of AI.

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