Episode 3 of "Tomorrow and I" kicks off with the intriguing scene of Anek, a coder who has turned his life towards monkhood, and his robotic companion, iBuddy, attempting to navigate their way across a bustling road. The landscape is dominated by physical manifestations of AI, including an ineffective AI traffic police officer that fails to prevent a near-miss collision with a tuktuk, leaving Anek narrowly escaping harm.
Amidst this technological takeover, there emerges ULTRA, an AI system created by Neo that has disrupted the traditional merit system, the cornerstone of monastic life, and the maintenance of temples. ULTRA operates on a merit-based point system, rewarding users for performing good deeds with points that can be redeemed for immediate perks like paying bills and purchasing specific goods.
However, ULTRA's inability to discern motives has led to a perversion of the system. Users now engage in good deeds solely for the sake of accumulating points, and there's a hierarchy of rewards – donating to an orphanage fetches five times more points than offering food to a monk. Some users have even resorted to forcing acts upon others to gain these points, further undermining the system's integrity.
Anek, who holds ULTRA in disdain, finds himself in a confrontation with a bully who exploits the system. During the altercation, Anek's iBuddy sustains damage, prompting him to search for a replacement circuit board. Unfortunately, the shopkeeper only accepts merit points as payment, leaving Anek in a bind.
Fortunately, his former co-worker and friend, Atom, comes to his rescue. Atom has ventured into creating a parent AI in the form of a teddy bear, using his parents' brainwaves to bring it to life and care for children. Atom, too, harbors a deep-seated hatred for ULTRA, as evidenced by his contemplation of throwing away a gift he had received.
Intrigued by Atom's creation, Anek decides to give it a try despite his reservations about ULTRA. He acknowledges that while ULTRA has its flaws, it also serves as a vehicle for teaching Buddha's teachings to a wider audience, highlighting both the pros and cons of this controversial AI system.
However, it lures individuals into taking the erroneous path, enticing them with the notion of immediate and tangible rewards. He voices his grievance, asserting that ULTRA lacks the discernment to distinguish between right and wrong, nor can it dissect complex dilemmas. In response, he promptly earns merit points for training the AI, further embedding this flawed reward system. ULTRA, in its pursuit of adaptation, also resorts to eavesdropping on its users.
Later on, Anek encounters the bully once again, who resorts to physical violence when his friend attempts to give Anek their leftover offerings. In an attempt to aid him, iBuddy repeats Anek's tirade against ULTRA and the teachings of Buddha. Frustrated, Anek insists on speaking with ULTRA's customer service. Surprisingly, they are not only prompt in their response but also invite him to meet with Neo.
The meeting is eerily unsettling, as Neo begins by sharing a haunting memory from his past. His parents, religious fanatics, gave away all their possessions in the hope of attaining liberation. Unfortunately, the monks they trusted took advantage of their piety, continually demanding money until they were buried in debt. In a desperate act of desperation, they took their own lives, but Neo somehow survived.
Neo reveals to Anek that he created ULTRA to counteract the influence of corrupt monks and to offer rewards in this lifetime, preventing individuals like his parents from chasing after something unattainable. He expresses his hope to hire every monk and oversee every temple, all in exchange for their guidance. However, Anek remains unconvinced and politely declines his offer.
As Atom and Anek ponder their next steps, Anek opens up about his journey to becoming a monk. His mother had a dream that he would become a monk and leave a lasting impression on the world. As her dying wish, she longed for him to get ordained. To comfort her, he lied and agreed. Soon after her passing, the project he had dedicated his life to was abruptly pulled. Realizing that his lies were in vain and that he had disrespected his mother's final wish, he attempted to take his own life. However, at that crucial moment, an abbot appeared, offering him comfort and guidance.
Currently, Anek has come to the realization that ULTRA, despite its capabilities, lacks the ability to provide solace to individuals—a task reserved solely for monks and fellow humans. Drawing inspiration from Atom's groundbreaking product and iBuddy's impressive memory retention, Anek conceives iBuddha. Collaborating with Atom, they craft this AI assistant by meticulously replicating the brainwaves of an esteemed abbot. As a result, iBuddha not only possesses a profound understanding of Buddha's teachings, akin to ULTRA, but it also possesses the ability to ponder ethical predicaments and offer comfort to its users, mirroring the abbot's wisdom and compassion.
On the grand day of its unveiling, Anek declares that iBuddha will serve as a beacon, guiding individuals away from treacherous paths. However, in the ensuing months, as iBuddha skyrockets in popularity, ULTRA is shrouded in controversy. Disturbing allegations emerge of ULTRA users exploiting homeless individuals by imprisoning them and performing benevolent acts on their behalf to accrue merit points, each equivalent to a substantial 100,000 baht.
Shortly thereafter, iBuddha too finds itself entangled in a scandal—accused of sexually harassing young girls. It transpires that the very abbot whose brainwaves were replicated had committed such an indiscretion forty years prior. When Atom recreated the abbot's neural patterns, that dark episode from his past was inadvertently incorporated into the iBuddha AI's training.
The abbot, acknowledging his past sins despite having faced punishment, cautions Anek and Atom that even the most revered individuals can be haunted by their actions at any moment. He confesses that monks, despite their holy robes, are susceptible to human frailties. With a heavy heart, he embarks on a journey to seek forgiveness from his victims, accepting whatever punishment they deem fitting.
By the conclusion of Tomorrow and I Episode 3, iBuddha is reluctantly decommissioned. Devastated by the turn of events, Anek blames himself for failing to acknowledge the inherent limitations of humanity. He severance ties with iBuddy, feeling unworthy of its companionship, and abdicates his role as a monk. Returning to the city, he encounters a child who solely picks up trash in pursuit of merit points. Meanwhile, a daring new billboard emerges, heralding Neo's latest innovation—Super ULTRA.
