October 19, 2017
Establishment of the "Cyber Disaster Prevention Consortium"
Mastering Disaster Prevention and Mitigation with Internet, Media, and AI
The Shingo Yamaguchi Laboratory at the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University; the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT); the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience (NIED); Yahoo Japan Corporation; and LINE Corporation have jointly established the Cyber Disaster Prevention Consortium. The consortium aims to achieve disaster prevention and mitigation that actively utilizes the internet, media, and artificial intelligence (AI), which are integral to people's daily lives.
This consortium will identify and organize issues related to disaster information to support disaster victims and evacuation centers, and will compile policy recommendations.
1. Purpose of Establishment
Accurate information analysis and sharing are essential for swift and smooth emergency disaster response and support for victims.
However, the actual sites of disasters either fall into a state of desperate information shortage or become chaotic due to the vast amount of constantly changing information. Despite the development of information and communication technology (ICT), the only "lifeline" connecting disaster victims and administrative agencies is voice calls. Information is supposed to be consolidated at the headquarters for disaster control, so if administrative functions are paralyzed, the activities of the entire region stagnate. Information organized on a whiteboard at the headquarters for disaster control is only accessible to people within a few meters.
To solve these problems of information shortage and overload, communication bottlenecks, and legacy methods of information organization, we are now in a situation where we must seriously consider the fundamental introduction of the latest information and communication technologies.
In modern society, where smartphones have become central to our lives, the active use of the internet, media, and AI (hereinafter "internet, etc.") is essential to master disaster prevention and mitigation. Furthermore, the internet, etc. are also highly anticipated for risk management during normal times, including crime prevention, security, large-scale accidents, crowd-related incidents, pandemics, and terrorism.
The ultimate goal of disaster prevention and mitigation is to "protect human lives." If that is the case, utilizing the internet, etc., which has the greatest reach to residents, tourists, and foreigners in disaster-stricken areas, should be the most direct path for disaster response. In particular, to prevent the frequent occurrence of disaster-related deaths, we should emphasize the potential of the internet, etc. to stay close to and support people.
In response to these expectations, some internet companies are developing disaster response services for smartphone users. Additionally, the government is advancing projects to analyze social media information using AI to enable the analysis of vast amounts of disaster information.
However, to utilize the internet, etc. for disaster prevention and mitigation as an "All-Japan" effort, there are numerous challenges to address. These include coordinating fragmented initiatives among industry, academia, and government; establishing an information-sharing system that eliminates organizational silos; networking public and private information systems; raising awareness about the latest technologies; and standardizing disaster information.
The Cyber Disaster Prevention Consortium, established today, will lead discussions toward solving these issues and aim to make policy recommendations that will strengthen disaster preparedness by collaborating with the national government, local governments, and designated public corporations. Furthermore, by supporting related regional demonstration projects, it will contribute to solving problems and achieving innovation in disaster prevention and mitigation.
2. Topics for Discussion (Tentative)
・ Identifying and organizing issues related to disaster information to support disaster victims and evacuation centers
・ Creating a mechanism for large-scale collection of disaster information from victims via the internet
・ Measures for further utilization of the internet, media, and AI for disaster prevention and mitigation
・ Cooperation and support for related regional demonstration projects
・ Compiling policy recommendations on the above, etc.
For the full press release, please see "Establishment of the 'Cyber Disaster Prevention Consortium': Mastering Disaster Prevention and Mitigation with Internet, Media, and AI.pdf" .
[Contact for this matter]
Shingo Yamaguchi Laboratory, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University
E-mail: shingo5@sfc.keio.ac.jp
[Distributed by]
Academic and Research Support Section, Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC) Office