Challenge to “The Science of Ambiguity”

Q　What was your motivation for joining the program, and what about the program appeals to you?

My motivation for applying to this program was to incorporate unknown knowledge and interaction with researchers in other fields. When I was stuck on a theme or method, I can often break through the situation by receiving frank opinions from people in other fields, but I have no chance to communicate with such prople in my laboratory. I believe that the opportunity to interact with many people through this program will be a great benefit to my professional research.

The most attractive thing about this program is, above all, the chance to get to know like-minded peers and seniors. In the course of discussions with them, we may come up with completely new themes and methods. I feel that the experience of this program is irreplaceable.

Q　What is your expertise and how do you want to develop it with the program?

My specialty is Human-Agent-Interaction (HAI). I focus on “human-like objects” such as robots and virtual characters. I am studying about these questions, “Why do they look like people?” How can we make them look like people?” How can we apply personhood to society?” and this is a field that has developed over the past decade.
On the other hand, the culture that utilizes “human-likeness ” has been passed down through history, not only in recent decades but also in Buddhist statues and religious paintings. To truly understand the essence of this culture, I believe that it is necessary to examine human themselves, and the mechanisms of the body and brain, which have not changed in 2000 or 3000 years. Through this program, we would like to investigate “human-likeness” from the viewpoints of life science and brain science.

Q　What are your future dreams and goals?

I believe that the recent development of artificial intelligence will lead to more active discussions on AI consciousness, human rights, and other aspects of “human-likeness”. On the other hand, ambigulous concepts such as “human-likeness” are difficult to systematize, and I feel that the only way to shed light on them is through multiple fields and methods. My goal is to continue to challenge such ambiguity through various means such as interdisciplinary research, engineering, and sometimes art.