Have a Question? JainGPT it.
By: Vidur Jain
ChatGPT, a widely acclaimed and globally recognized AI Software, is useful in a variety of ways. If you have any inquiries and wish to ask ChatGPT about any topic, you can almost guarantee a valid response in milliseconds. Wouldn’t it be beneficial to have a similar tool for Jainism?
Anish Visaria, a previous YJA Board Member and current director of innovations of the Jain E-Library had this same thought! He decided that it was essential to have access to AI Software focusing specifically on Jain Literature and the overall Jain religion. In 2020, he launched Jain Quantum (QQ); a keyword search engine that provides various Jain Literatures such as games, scriptures, sutras, textbooks, and the JAB Manual. In total, there are approximately 4 million pages worth of material stored inside the database. To launch this website, it required extracting plain text, pdf files, and the search of User Interface (UI) to increase the efficacy of the results, and accommodate for various possibilities of keyword searches. Like ChatGPT, JainQQ also responds in milliseconds. Despite the reliability of this engine, Anish felt that users should have access to a search engine that is easier to interpret.
In 2023, Anish launched another Jainism AI software called JainGPT. JainGPT is a semantic search engine that works similarly to ChatGPT. A semantic search engine, like JainGPT, can answer logic-based questions. The user can type a question about Jainism and the search engine filters out Jain literature and provides the user with an answer with great accuracy in English. As of right now, Anish is still working on making JainGPT the best version it could be. Specifically, he thinks that it will start to become more beneficial and popular throughout the world if it can give a highly accurate answer for all languages and provide access to more literature that he plans to add. Based on Google Analytics in the past 12 months, among the top 10 countries users in India and the United States had access to these apps the most with average engagement ranging from 38 seconds in India to 1.41 minutes in the United States and the engagement rate per user was between 37% and 48%.
While JainQQ and JainGPT remain under development, Anish Visaria’s use of AI signifies a remarkable leap forward in harnessing technology for Jainism. These search engines are envisioned as accessible resources for Jains worldwide for all types of users across the globe and also integration of AI into religious spheres. Beyond their functionality, AI represents a pioneering effort to bridge the gap between tradition and technological innovation, offering a promising glimpse into the future of Jainism.
