Rethinking Self-Understanding in the Age of AI: From Reflective Outcome to Pre-Configured Self-Understanding
Religions June 29, 2026 Kwanghyun Han, Sejin Chang
Self-understanding is not a reflective outcome but a conditionally constituted process grounded in the Buddhist principle of dependent origination. Traditional meditation operates as a structure of conditional disclosure, where practitioners observe the dynamic interplay of experiential conditions. In contrast, AI-mediated meditation systems pre-configure these conditions through algorithmic classification, procedural guidance, and interface design, shaping self-understanding through technologically mediated interpretations. The key distinction lies in the visibility and configurational control of conditions. This theoretical framework shows how digital environments may reshape contemplative agency and the conditions under which self-understanding is formed.