Scholars, CEOs Discuss Philosophical Challenges of AI Era at Inaugural Kyoto Conference

The Japan News

20:01 JST, September 24, 2025

An international conference of representatives from academia and industry concluded on Wednesday in Kyoto, having established a new platform to discuss challenges such as the rise of artificial intelligence.

The two-day event, the Inaugural Kyoto Conference, was held by the Kyoto Institute of Philosophy (KIP), which has been engaged in creating a philosophy for the era of AI.

At a press conference after the event, philosopher Markus Gabriel, a professor at the University of Bonn in Germany who also serves as senior global adviser of the institute, said, “We were able to generate an entirely new platform that not only brings cultures, but also sectors, together.”

The KIP was established in 2023 with the founding mission of leading a global movement aimed at creating a “multilayered society of values,” where diverse perspectives are respected and coexist.

Philosopher Yasuo Deguchi, a professor at Kyoto University who also serves as cochair of the institute, said at the press conference that philosophers, industry leaders and other members of society had gathered to engage in dialogue. “That was the starting point and the goal, and it was truly well done,” Deguchi said.

The main topic of the event was AI, with some viewing it as a threat.

Jun Sawada, executive chairman of NTT, Inc. and cochair of the institute, said at the press conference that through the discussion at the event he felt that “AI [models] should be networked and connected, forming a social model where they mutually restrain each other.”

Sawada also mentioned that there is a trend in which some companies are appointing “chief philosophy officers.” Deepening discussions between industry sectors, the world of philosophers and the humanities, including at this week’s conference, may accelerate that trend. “I think that the number of companies seeking philosophical consulting will increase,” he said.