Professor Yuko Itatsu, Professor Yujin Yaguchi, and Associate Professor Ai Hisano participated in the Global University Summit for the Rome Call for AI Ethics held on October 26 and 27, 2022, on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.
Profs. Itatsu, Yaguchi and Hisano belong to the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies at the University of Tokyo and are members of the Mid- and Long-term Research Project " B’AI Global Forum: Research on norms, ethics and praxis for a truly gender equal society and a guarantee of rights for minorities in the AI age ".

The summit featured presentations of the latest research, keynote speeches, panel discussions, and networking events aimed at examining the role of universities through research, education, and policy in developing ethical approaches to artificial intelligence (AI).
Professor Yaguchi was invited to talk at the panel discussion of the Session 3 on the 26th, representing the Institute for AI and Beyond, while Professor Itatsu and Associate Professor Hisano shared a poster presentation highlighting the approaches of both the B’AI Global Forum and the Institute for AI and Beyond.

＜Related Links＞
・Global University Summit for the Rome Call for AI Ethics
https://techethicslab.nd.edu/news-and-events/rome-call-for-ai-ethics-a-global-university-summit/
・Rome Call for AI Ethics
https://www.romecall.org/
・B'AI Global Forum HP
https://baiforum.jp/en/

The Institute for AI and Beyond mourns the loss of Dr. Sadaoki FURUI, Professor Emeritus at Tokyo Institute of Technology, Chief Research Director at National Institute of Informatics (NII), former President and Chair of the Board of Trustees of Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago (TTIC), and a member of the International Advisory Board of the Institute for AI and Beyond since 2020, who passed away on 31 July 2022.

Dr. Furui was a pioneer and a leader in the field of computerized speech recognition and has made a wide range of contributions throughout his distinguished carrier, not only to academic research and education in information technology related to artificial intelligence but also to society at large. As a result, he received numerous awards and honors such as the Science and Technology Agency's Director-General's Award, Cultural Achievement Award, “Medal with Purple Ribbon”, and the IEEE James L. Flanagan Speech and Audio Processing Award to mention a few. He has also shown his dedication to the field by serving on various academic committees and organizations in Japan and abroad including the Acoustical Society of Japan, the IEEE and International Speech Communication Association.

We were extremely grateful for his contribution and generous support to our organization as the institute’s first chair of the International Advisory Board and his effort in the creation of the board itself. With his operational knowledge at an international research university in the US as well as his network of contacts at other top research institutions, research communities and prominent researchers in the field of AI at home and elsewhere, he kept giving sound advice to our management team on the prospects and international strategy of the institute. His timely and thoughtful advices to the researchers of the institute on their research projects have greatly been appreciated, not to mentioned that he was the frequent questioner and a thought-provoking advisor at the research seminars held regularly within the institute.

With the respect and thankfulness for his outstanding accomplishments to artificial intelligence research and education, the Institute for AI and Beyond of the University of Tokyo extends its deepest condolences to his family, his colleagues, and all who cherished their lives by knowing Dr. Furui.

Masami HAGIYA, Ph. D.
Director, Institute for AI and Beyond