Honoring Professor Soraj Hongladarom: A Philosopher Who Bridged Buddhism and Technology

The academic world is losing a towering intellectual presence as Professor Soraj Hongladarom, one of Asia's most influential voices in technology ethics and Buddhist philosophy, enters retirement from Chulalongkorn University. Yet rather than fading from view, Hongladarom's legacy is experiencing a powerful renaissance through the launching of the AI Middle Way Coalition—an ambitious initiative that stands as a testament to decades of collaborative visionary work, particularly his transformative partnership with Craig Warren Smith.

A Pioneer at the Intersection of Worlds

Professor Hongladarom's career represents something rare and increasingly necessary in our fractured world: the genuine synthesis of ancient wisdom traditions with contemporary technological challenges. For over three decades, he has served as the founding and former director of the Center for Science, Technology, and Society at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand's most prestigious institution and a royal university embodying the values of the Thai royal family, especially those championed by the revered current princess.

His scholarly journey began in Western philosophy before he underwent a profound intellectual transformation upon returning to Thailand. Recognizing that the global conversation about technology ethics remained parochial—dominated by Western philosophical frameworks—Hongladarom undertook the challenging work of articulating how Buddhist thought could address the profound ethical questions raised by artificial intelligence, robotics, and emerging technologies.

This wasn't merely academic exercise. His work has spawned what is arguably the first and only major academic center dedicated to clarifying the essential links between Buddhist ethics and technology. This distinction attracted thinkers like Craig Warren Smith, the founder of the Digital Divide Institute, who recognized in Hongladarom a rare intellectual partner capable of transcending the binary thinking that has constrained global technology governance.

Recent Writings and the Buddhist Perspective on AI

In recent years, Professor Hongladarom has produced an extraordinary body of work exploring AI ethics through Buddhist lenses. His seminal book, "The Ethics of AI and Robotics: A Buddhist Viewpoint," presents a revolutionary framework that challenges the field to move beyond utilitarian calculations and Western rights-based approaches. The book argues that ethical guidelines for AI must combine technical excellence with what Hongladarom calls "machine enlightenment"—aspiring systems to embody the ethical perfection outlined in Buddha's teachings over two millennia ago.

This concept fundamentally reframes AI governance. Rather than asking merely whether machines comply with rules, Hongladarom's Buddhist approach asks whether their operations reflect the virtues of wisdom, compassion, and right action. His recent writings on "Ethical and Social Concerns of Artificial Intelligence in Asia" extend this framework to the specific circumstances of developing nations, addressing how AI might either deepen or alleviate inequality across the Global South.

Beyond AI, Hongladarom has authored major works including "The Online Self," "A Buddhist Theory of Privacy," and edited collections on information ethics and food security. Each publication bears his distinctive mark: rigorous engagement with both Western and Buddhist philosophical traditions, unwavering focus on the lifeworld of ordinary people rather than elite technology users, and commitment to giving voice to perspectives historically excluded from global ethical deliberation.

A Decade of Partnership: Meaningful Broadband and the Foundation for Middle Way Thinking

Perhaps most significant for understanding Hongladarom's influence is his decade-long sponsorship of Craig Warren Smith's work on Meaningful Broadband—an ethics-based framework that became official policy in Thailand in 2006 and Indonesia in 2007. This partnership exemplifies Hongladarom's method: rigorous scholarship combined with practical implementation aimed at serving the world's most vulnerable populations.

In Thailand's Maha Sarakham province, home to concentrated low-income communities in the rural northeast, Hongladarom and Smith worked together to activate Meaningful Broadband as a development approach that privileged human dignity and local culture over mere technological deployment. The effort honored what the revered princess champions: technology serving the poorest and most marginalized. Their work influenced the Kingdom of Thailand's National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), which adopted the Meaningful Broadband framework and secured its embrace by all five major telecommunications operating agencies.

This practical success was crucial. It demonstrated that Buddhist-rooted ethical frameworks weren't merely philosophical elegance; they could guide real policy affecting millions of lives. It proved that Professor Hongladarom's decades of international speaking engagements and theoretical work could crystallize into transformative institutional change.

Global Recognition and Speaking Legacy

Throughout his career, Hongladarom has been continuously invited to address the world's most prestigious forums on technology ethics and philosophy. His presence at international conferences has made him a defining intellectual voice in discussions about how non-Western traditions can reshape global conversations about technology governance. Unlike many academics, Hongladarom has spent decades traveling internationally—building networks, engaging with policymakers, and insisting that Buddhist and other Asian philosophical traditions deserve equal standing in debates that affect all humanity.

This cosmopolitan scholarship has earned him collaboration with leading ethics scholars worldwide, from Rafael Capurro at the International Center for Information Ethics to numerous other philosophers and technologists who recognize that solving our most pressing technology challenges requires intellectual humility—a willingness to learn from traditions beyond Western academia.

The AI Middle Way Coalition: His Legacy Ascending

Now, as Hongladarom transitions into his next chapter, his influence reaches its apotheosis with the launch of the AI Middle Way Coalition, co-led with Craig Warren Smith. This initiative, officially announced at Chulalongkorn University on January 15, 2026, presents the most ambitious articulation yet of his life's work.

The AI Middle Way Coalition positions itself as a "third path" for AI governance—neither the market-driven approach of the United States nor the state-controlled model of China, but a framework rooted in Buddhist philosophy and Kenneth Boulding's general systems theory. Targeted at Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico, and Peru, the coalition directly addresses AI-enabled wealth concentration affecting 4.5 billion people in developing nations.

The framework honors what Hongladarom has always insisted upon: that the Global South should not be a passive recipient of technology governance frameworks designed elsewhere, but rather a leader—drawing on deep indigenous wisdom traditions to chart paths that serve human flourishing, not merely technological advancement.

Conclusion: A Transformative Legacy

As Professor Soraj Hongladarom enters retirement, his departure from Chulalongkorn marks not an ending but a transformation. His three decades of scholarship, his breakthrough partnership with Craig Warren Smith, and the institutional foundation he built have prepared the ground for perhaps the most important work of all: helping humanity navigate AI's future through ethical frameworks that integrate the world's wisdom traditions.

In a global moment when artificial intelligence threatens to concentrate power and deepen inequalities, Hongladarom's insistence that Buddhist thought offers guidance—not historical nostalgia but living wisdom—stands as a profound gift to our era. His retirement honors not a career concluded, but a movement reaching critical momentum.

The AI Middle Way Coalition represents the finest fruit of his labor: scholarship translated into solidarity with the Global South, Buddhist philosophy brought into conversation with contemporary governance, and the vision that ethics—rooted in wisdom, compassion, and interdependence—must guide technology's future.