Series Index
1. How AI Is Reshaping Religion and Human Ethics
2. What Remains Human in the Age of Expanding AI
3. Can AI Redefine Religion?
4. Common Ground in Tradition and the Future of Faith
5. Rebuilding Human Desire and Ethics in the AI Age
6. Human Existence and the Value of Being in the AGI Era
By IM Byung-min (IBM), Columnist
The common ground shared by traditional religions is deeply rooted in human emotions — fear, suffering, hope, guilt, gratitude and awe. Their origins arise from universal human experiences shaped by the five senses, emotional life, anxiety about death, struggles with sin and greed, and the longing for salvation. Although traditional religions differ in doctrine and ritual practice, they share remarkable similarities in their fundamental teachings about how human beings ought to live. Most religions emphasize values such as honesty, compassion, love, consideration, morality and responsibility, teaching that life should be lived through respect for others and care for one’s neighbors.
Traditional religions stress that human beings are imperfect and therefore must continually grow through reflection and prayer. They seek to help people understand the meaning of suffering and hardship and provide pathways to endure and overcome them. Rather than pursuing material gain alone, religions teach the importance of spiritual and moral values. They also place strong emphasis on social harmony and peace, valuing not only individual happiness but also the shared well-being of families and communities, encouraging lives rooted in cooperation and coexistence.
Many religions further teach gratitude for the preciousness of life received from transcendent reality beyond humanity. They encourage reverence for the mysteries of nature encountered each day and for the human gift of awareness itself. Beneath these teachings lies a deeply human desire — that the mystery of consciousness and the five senses entrusted to us may endure under protection and meaning.
Despite their differing ritual systems, traditional religions share a common aspiration toward love, compassion, communal harmony and the search for life’s meaning. Human beings seek to build better communities beginning with the family, and religions teach that humans are not merely material entities but spiritually significant beings called to live virtuous lives. Rather than greed and hatred, they advocate love and mercy. They remind us that human imperfection must be acknowledged and that personal transformation through self-reflection remains essential.
Ultimately, one of religion’s most enduring common foundations lies in fear and reverence toward forces beyond human control. Throughout history, religions have offered comfort and hope as people encounter sorrow, suffering, fear and uncertainty. Through prayer and reflection, individuals seek to orient their lives toward moral goodness, connect themselves to a greater truth, and find protection and meaning beyond themselves. The desire for one’s hopes and aspirations to be fulfilled has likewise remained a universal feature of religious life.
History also reveals examples of religious syncretism — the blending and coexistence of different faith traditions. Sikhism, founded in fifteenth-century India, emerged through the interaction of Hindu and Islamic monotheistic ideas, emphasizing human equality and social justice while challenging caste divisions. Japan offers another notable example through the long tradition of Shinbutsu-shūgō, the fusion of Shinto and Buddhism, where shrines and temples historically coexisted within an integrated spiritual culture. In Vietnam, Cao Dai developed as a modern syncretic religion combining elements of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Catholicism and spiritualism.
Korea presents its own example through Won Buddhism. Although grounded in Buddhist philosophy, Won Buddhism seeks a modern and universal spiritual path. While incorporating certain forms that resemble Christian worship, it emerged from a distinct tradition while sharing a broader goal common to many religions: guiding human minds and lives toward ethical and spiritual renewal.
Human beings do not live merely for material existence; they pursue higher values and truth. Across religious traditions, inner cultivation and moral living are regarded as central. Love, compassion, consideration and forgiveness stand as foundational virtues, while mutual service and responsibility within the community are widely encouraged. Religions commonly warn that societies and individuals may fall into unhappiness when consumed solely by material desire. For this reason, they call for purification of the mind from greed and selfishness and encourage prayer and self-examination as pathways toward a more righteous direction in life.
If the industrial age was defined primarily by material value, the AI era may be understood as a quantum-digital age in which scientific advancement and humanoid technologies create unprecedented material abundance. The age of advanced intelligence may even enable new forms of communication between humans and animals. Yet the meaning of peaceful life continues to rest upon inner stability, responsibility rooted in love, moderation and coexistence. Although religions express these ideals differently, they have long regarded them as essential values.
In the AI era, these shared principles deserve renewed emphasis as an enduring spiritual foundation of faith. Human beings, endowed with senses, imagination and inspiration, are not merely instruments but the very purpose through which the universe is understood and interpreted. They must never be reduced to tools or treated solely as means. One of the defining ethical tasks of the future, therefore, will be ensuring that AI, AGI and ASI are developed within frameworks that recognize and uphold human dignity.
