Deepak Chopra has carried many torches as alternative medicine leader and author to spiritual guide and entrepreneur. The 77-year-old founded The Chopra Foundation, which fosters humanitarian research, and has written over 90 books, including The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success and The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire.
What’s next for Chopra: Reaching more people by distilling the lessons he has championed for decades.
It’s precisely why the “poet-prophet of alternative medicine” as he was named by Time Magazine is not afraid to get into the business of AI.
“I'm most excited about the possibility of reaching a critical mass. In my mind, that is a billion people on [creating] a more peaceful, just, sustainable, healthier, and joyful world,” Chopra tells Fortune after leading a meditation as part of Bryant Park’s Yoga Series presented by CALIA in New York City Wednesday.
Earlier this year, Chopra launched an AI digital twin called DigitalDeepak.ai created by Twin Protocol. The machine has been trained on Chopra’s video library and his over 90 books, and can communicate in English, Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, and soon, Chinese.
“You can ask it anything. How do I get to sleep tonight?” Chopra, whose most recent book is about how to use AI as a friend, research assistant, health coach, and spiritual guide, says in a recent YouTube video about the launch. “You can talk about astrobiology. You can ask questions about love, romance…all the way from sex to spirituality.”
When typing in, How can I begin meditating if I never have tried to before?, you not only get a written response but a Chopra-narrated audio message. “Begin by finding a quiet place. Take a few deep breaths until you feel settled. Focus your attention on the area of your heart. Breathe naturally, sensing your breath coming from your heart. If you get distracted, gently return your attention to your heart. Practice for 5 to 10 minutes daily.”
AI has been rapidly expanding in the health care space, and now, the wellness space, by offering personalized lifestyle recommendations and tips based on machine learning. Chopra sees his digital twin as a spiritual guide, and says he’s not afraid of the novelty of his approach.
“It doesn't hallucinate because it doesn't go to other search engines. It just goes to my work,” he says, adding that the machine’s knowledge of Chopra’s work can practically give people the wisdom of “Jesus, Buddha, Socrates, Plato, or any luminary throughout history.”
Chopra’s lessons center on managing stress and teach people how to create more awareness through gratitude and meditation. He has spoken at length about how chronic stress is the main driver of inflammation in the body, which he has called “the number one pandemic of our times.”
“Stress, anxiety, anger, resentment, violence, depression all go together because of inflammation in the body,” he tells Fortune, who encourages people to stay connected socially to those around them, find moments of joy and gratitude, and get enough quality sleep.
