South Korea Ordains Robot Monk Ahead of Buddha’s Birthday

In brief

• A Unitree Robotics G1 humanoid named Gabi was formally initiated as a monk at Seoul’s Jogyesa Temple on Wednesday.
• The Jogye Order adapted the Buddhist Five Precepts for the robot, including rules against deception and overcharging.
• Gabi joins a growing number of religious robots across Asia, including Buddhist teaching robots in Japan and ritual-performing machines in India.