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On December 2, Keio University and Yonsei University held a joint public seminar at the Global Research Lab (G-Lab) in the East Research Building on Keio's Mita Campus.

The seminar was themed around the question, "Humanities at Risk?" and featured robust discussions from experts in disciplines related to the humanities on the need to redefine what makes us "human" in the age of AI, the challenges facing universities in their educational and research roles as they train the next generation of professionals, and the future of higher education.

At the beginning of the event, Keio University President Kohei Itoh and Yonsei University President Dong-Sup Yoon spoke about the partnership their two universities had forged over the years and expressed their desire that the seminar would lead to meaningful dialogue between researchers and attendees, encouraging future collaborations.

For the keynote speech, Professor Noriyuki Harada, dean of the Graduate School of Letters at Keio University, focused on language which is one of the main research subjects within humanities. He then explored how the ambiguity and fluidity of language reflect the depth of human thought and individuality, while also serving as a source of diversity in education and society. He concluded by offering suggestions on how universities should move forward, arguing that nurturing human potential requires placing greater emphasis on the learning process rather than on outcomes, especially in contrast to the characteristics of AI.

In the panel discussion that followed, Yonsei University's Professor Hye Joon Yoon from the Department of English and Associate Professor Nam Ju Kim from the Department of Education joined Keio University's Professor Satoko Tokunaga from the Faculty of Letters and Professor Akira Ishii from the Faculty of Economics. The conversation covered how to work with students amidst the current inundation of information due to AI and the ease with which students could access this information, with each professor drawing on their perspectives as educators and experts on what it means to be human, whether it entails having an innate curiosity, accumulating lived experience over time, or engaging in ongoing discussions about the fundamental, unanswerable questions of human society.

*Yonsei University is a key partner on international student exchange with Keio University as well as one of the participating institutions in the Program for Forming Japan's Peak Research Universities (J-PEAKS), a national initiative Keio was selected to join in 2023.

Photos: Aki Takematsu