Establishment of Keio University’s X Dignity Center’s Commemorated in Symposium, Spotlighting Human Dignity in Age of AI

The Yomiuri Shimbun

1:00 JST, October 5, 2024

Exploring human dignity in the age of artificial intelligence was the focus of a symposium commemorating the establishment of the Keio University X Dignity Center held Thursday on the university’s Mita Campus in Minato Ward, Tokyo. Researchers across disciplines will study human dignity in AI at the center.

In the digital space, the “attention economy” is taking hold, where gains are made using extreme information to draw attention. AI generates large amounts of data and people are surrounded by biased information, creating situations in which perceptions can be distorted.

Keio University Prof. Tatsuhiko Yamamoto, a co-representative of the center, said the center’s researchers will study how to define and realize human dignity amid accelerating developments in AI. The center will accomplish this through true interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary research, he said.

The center also places importance on collaborating with industry and civil society, with an advisory board of corporate representatives.

President of The Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings Toshikazu Yamaguchi, the advisory board’s chairman, also attended the event.

Expressing his expectations for the center’s activities, Yamaguchi spoke about how the forefront of AI development purportedly changes every three months. It is unprecedented for humans to experience an era of such rapid change, and we have already entered uncharted territory, he said.