An Enactive Approach to AI and Mindfulness
Philosophical Aspects of AI Language Models Conference
St Petersburg, 7-8 April 2025
Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies, Faculty of Humanities, Kyushu University, Japan. Publications: focus on poetics, poetry and arts, transmedia practices (20th-21st c.) (special issue Technotext, National University Taiwan, 2025; book Ghérasim Luca: Texte, Image, Son, Peter Lang 2020) and on transformative poetics related to East Asia (book Exploring Body-Mind Interactions: holistic practices, IGI Global 2025; org. 2024 Japan symposium Body-Mind Interactions; special issue Origami, le pli dans les littératures et les arts, Pau University 2021). International Projects (ANR funds): the book as a creative space (Livre Espace de Création, resp. Pau University, FR, 2011-2015) and the European mapping of the Romanian avant-garde (AVANTGARDES, resp. Trinity College Cambridge/PSL, UK/FR, 2016-2020). Leadership: presently PI of the research project Well-Being with Arts (Q-AOS Institute Funds, Japan).
This keynote speech explores the intersection of ancient yogic wisdom/philosophies and contemporary artificial intelligence (AI), focusing on mindfulness as a bridge between these fields. It examines the philosophical and ethical imperatives of ancient traditions alongside the functionalities of contemporary AI technologies. It will be drawing from more than 15 years of research on intermedia practices and on the results of the international project Well-Being with Arts, at Kyushu University, delving into the performative aspects of Art-Yoga and its impact on well-being. Ancient texts like the Patanjali Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita provide a structured epistemological system integrating metaphysics, ethics, and self-realization, which supports many contemporary mindfulness practices. The enactive approach, rooted in biology and neuroscience’s research, but also related to Mahayana Buddhism and phenomenology, highlights the cognitive relevance of embodied experiences, challenging traditional notions of self and cognition. The concept of autopoietic machines, as defined by Maturana and Varela, is applied to both mindfulness practices and generative AI, emphasizing their self-sustaining and regenerative nature. The integration of AI into mindfulness practices offers enhanced accessibility, support for mental health, and augmented learning environments, while also raising ethical concerns about human interaction, technostress, and the illusion of agency. Ultimately, this speech aims to expand our understanding of self-awareness, well-being, and existential inquiry, fostering individual and collective mindfulness through the convergence of ancient philosophies and new technologies.