October 10, 2024
On Wednesday, September 25, the sixth installment of the “OIST-KEIO Showcase Talk” series, a collaborative talk event series between Keio University and the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), was held at the Forum on the 7th floor of the Sosokan building on Yagami Campus. This event also served as the first pre-event for the Yagami Innovation Laboratory (YIL), scheduled to open in April 2025. Under the theme “Science meets Society: From Symbiotics to Enactive Minds,” the event featured an interdisciplinary discussion exploring the intersection of science and society and the relationship between technology and humanity.
The event began with an introduction to the objectives and business plan of YIL by Toshiji Saiki, Dean of the Graduate School of Science and Technology. This was followed by a lecture from Associate Professor Tom Froese of OIST's Embodied Cognitive Science Unit, who spoke on the challenges and issues surrounding human augmentation (the enhancement of human capabilities) through technology.
Following the lecture, a panel discussion was held, moderated by Professor Junichi Ushiba of the Faculty of Science and Technology. The panel featured Associate Professor Froese, along with Associate Professor Yuki Imoto, Full-time Lecturer Dattatraya, and Full-time Lecturer Eiko Matsuda, all from the Faculty of Science and Technology. This was followed by a lively and enthusiastic Q&A session, with students actively asking numerous questions about consciousness and sensation in machines and humans.
Furthermore, after the event concluded, a tour of the Yagami Campus was conducted. The speakers and participants enjoyed visiting the Manufacturing Center, the Central Service Facilities for Science and Technology Research, and laboratories of the Faculty of Science and Technology.
*This event is supported by the Japan Program for Enhancing Research Universities with Distinctive Strengths (J-PEAKS). J-PEAKS will continue to develop the “OIST-KEIO Showcase Talk” series. Additionally, the YIL Preparatory Office will continue to hold “YIL Pre-EVENTs” in the future.