Science Cafe is a public seminar series organized by the Institute for AI and Beyond, with the aim of disseminating the contents of research to society in the form of a dialogue between research leaders of Basic Research (Mid- and Long-term Research) and science communicators.
Each seminar will have a different theme, such as how AI will advance the research of each speaker and how the results from that research will be relevant to society in the future.

In the 5th Science Cafe, Professor Kenichi Ohki of the Graduate School of Medicine, a leading expert in the field of brain function, will discuss the current rapid progress in measuring brain activity while also utilizing AI.

Until now, image recognition by deterministic artificial intelligence has always returned the same output for the same input. On the other hand, recognition by the human brain can show different responses to the same input, depending on the internal state, and can make flexible decisions according to the situation. By elucidating the information processing that actually takes place in the brain and reproducing it with artificial intelligence, we aim to realize a robust and flexible artificial intelligence that cannot be achieved with the current principles of artificial intelligence.
In this Science Cafe, we will discuss the technology used in the measurement of brain activity and the forefront of clarifying information processing in the brain, as well as the problems of current artificial intelligence and the direction it should go in order for it to develop further.

5th Science Cafe
Date & Time: Friday, March 18, 2022 18:00-19:00
Venue: Online
Speaker: Kenichi Ohki (Professor, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo)
Apply: https://form.qooker.jp/Q/auto/ja/beyondai0318/sc/

*Please note that this seminar is in Japanese only.

Science Cafe is a public seminar series organized by the Institute for AI and Beyond, with the aim of disseminating the contents of research to society in the form of a dialogue between research leaders of Basic Research (Mid- and Long-term Research) and science communicators.
Each seminar will have a different theme, such as how AI will advance the research of each speaker and how the results from that research will be relevant to society in the future.

At the 4th Science Cafe, Dr. Ai Hisano, Associate Professor at the Department of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, who specializes in the history of technology and social history, will discuss social issues, including ethics, related to the development of AI. We will invite Dr. Shuang Lu Frost, Assistant Professor at Aarhus University, who has written widely on the social implications of AI.

The development of AI has brought about unprecedented technological progress in human history, and has greatly contributed to economic development and improvement of convenience in daily life. However, some scholars have pointed out in recent years that such technological development could promote the exclusion of social minorities and increase social inequality. Part of these social problems is related to the fact that the development and use of AI is not necessarily neutral but reflect, and are influenced by, social, cultural, and political changes. For example, engineers and researchers are unconsciously influenced by their social norms, cultural values, and ethical standards, and what they consider “ideal technology” is contingent on the context. Exploring the role of AI in society, we will discuss various implications of the development and use of AI.

4th Science Cafe
Date & Time: Monday, January 17, 2022 17:00-18:00
Venue: Online
Speaker:
Ai Hisano (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, The University of Tokyo)
Shuang Lu Frost (Assistant Professor, Department of Digital Design and Information Studies, Aarhus University)
Ayumi Koso (Director, National BioResource Project PR Office, National Institute of Genetics)

Language: English (Japanese simultaneous interpretation provided)
Apply: 　https://form.qooker.jp/Q/auto/ja/beyondai0117/sc/

Science Cafe is a public seminar series organized by the Institute for AI and Beyond, with the aim of disseminating the contents of research to society in the form of a dialogue between research leaders of Basic Research (Mid- and Long-term Research) and science communicators.
Each seminar will have a different theme, such as how AI will advance the research of each speaker and how the results from that research will be relevant to society in the future.

In the third seminar, Professor Eiji Saito (Graduate School of Engineering), a leading expert in the field of quantum materials science, will talk about the quantum phenomena and quantum computers on a microscopic scale, both of which are currently experiencing rapid advances in its research.
In recent years, the ability to create extremely small materials at high speed and significant advances in micro-scale measurement techniques have made it possible to measure a variety of quantum physical phenomena. Quantum physical phenomena are systems in which multiple degrees of freedom influence each other, and as these phenomena become clearer, our understanding of physical laws changes.
In addition, it is very difficult for human eyes to find the regularity of these phenomena in the data obtained, and by using AI, Prof. Saito is trying to open up a new academic field that aims to decipher quantum properties that were previously incomprehensible. We will touch on the future prospects of this research and discuss the interface between this remarkable progress and social systems.

3rd Science Cafe
Date & Time: Wednesday, December 22, 2021 18:00-19:00
Venue: Online
Speaker: Eiji Saitoh (Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo)
Apply: https://form.qooker.jp/Q/auto/ja/beyondai1222/sc/

*Please note that this seminar is in Japanese only.

Science Cafe is a public seminar series organized by the Institute for AI and Beyond, with the aim of disseminating the contents of research to society in the form of a dialogue between research leaders of Basic Research (Mid- and Long-term Research) and science communicators.
Each seminar will have a different theme, such as how AI will advance the research of each speaker and how the results from that research will be relevant to society in the future.

In the second seminar, Professor Tatsuya Harada (Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology - RCAST), a leading expert in the field of image recognition, will talk about systems and services with advanced prediction functions based on machine learning, which are currently spreading rapidly. He will also talk about the difficult problem of preparing training data that stands in the way of the implementation of deep learning and introduce the potential of this problem and its solutions. He will also discuss how the solution to this problem, the automatic construction and application of highly accurate prediction models, can contribute to the achievement of a better future society, and the progress of science and technology.

2nd Science Cafe
Date & Time: Wednesday, October 20, 2021 18:00-19:00
Venue: Online
Speaker: Tatsuya Harada (Professor, The Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology)
Apply: https://form.qooker.jp/Q/auto/ja/beyondai1020/sc/

*Please note that this seminar is in Japanese only.

Science Cafe is a public seminar series organized by the Institute for AI and Beyond, with the aim of disseminating the contents of research to society in the form of a dialogue between research leaders of Basic Research (Mid- and Long-term Research) and science communicators.
Each seminar will have a different theme, such as how AI will advance the research of each speaker and how the results from that research will be relevant to society in the future.

In the first seminar, Professor Yuji Ikegaya (Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences), a leading expert in the field of brain science, will discuss the possibility of using AI to expand our capabilities to learn abilities that could not be acquired through conventional learning methods.

1st Science Cafe
Date & Time: Friday, September 17, 2021 18:00-19:00
Venue: Online
Speaker: Yuji Ikegaya (Professor, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences)
Apply: https://form.qooker.jp/Q/auto/ja/beyondai/0917/

*Please note that this seminar is in Japanese only.