March 25, 2021
Associate Professor Nao Tokui of the Graduate School of Media and Governance, along with Makoto Amano (2020 graduate, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies), Eiko Hirata (fourth-year student, Faculty of Policy Management), Yuka Sai (fourth-year student, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies), and Ryosuke Nakajima (2018 graduate, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies) from the Tokui Lab, have won the Jury Special Award in the Entertainment Division at the 24th Japan Media Arts Festival. (Photo: Ryo Funamoto)
This is the second award for their work "UNLABELED - Camouflage Against the Machines," following the Award for Excellence in the Digital Contents Division at the INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS CREATIVE AWARD (ISCA) 2020 in December 2020 .
Comment from Makoto Amano (2020 graduate, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies)
I am deeply honored that our work was selected for the Jury Selections. Thank you very much. Through this work, I believe we have brought focus not only to the physical individual but also to the existence of the individual as information, raising awareness of the "privacy paradox." I hope to continue my research and creative work, confronting AI implemented in society and further deepening the discussion.
Comment from Yuka Sai (fourth-year student, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies)
I am very honored that our work was chosen for the Jury Selections at the Japan Media Arts Festival.
I believe this has become an opportunity to reconsider the state and presentation of our bodies and personal information in an AI-surveilled society, where we are unintentionally seen by an unspecified number of others.
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who viewed this work and to all those involved.
Comment from Eiko Hirata (fourth-year student, Faculty of Policy Management)
In an era where our personal information becomes independent and circulates without our consent, and the presence of others is ambiguous, I believe that using the clothes we wear daily as a kind of wall to protect ourselves can be interpreted as a form of the protective function that clothing originally possessed. I am very honored to have been selected at such a prestigious festival. Thank you very much.
Comment from Ryosuke Nakajima (2018 graduate, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies)
I am deeply honored that "UNLABELED" has been chosen as a Jury Selection. In this work, based on the concept of camouflage clothing for an AI-surveilled society, we have continued to explore AI technology and the nature of a society that uses it. In a society where AI technology is rapidly developing and being implemented, I believe the standards for what is considered right should be constantly questioned. We will continue to update the work and deepen the discussion without stopping. This selection is also the result of the guidance from everyone in the research lab and all related parties. I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude.
Comment from Associate Professor Tokui
Congratulations to the students and everyone involved in winning the award.
In my research group, the Computational Creativity Lab, while we engage in creative activities using technologies like AI, we also place great importance on the perspective of reconsidering the nature of technology through expression. This work, which presents an antithesis to the facile introduction of AI technology through fashion design, truly embodies the essence of our lab. I also feel that it was a very SFC-like project, achievable only because we had members with diverse interests and backgrounds, from training AI models and 3D CG to creating clothing patterns. I intend to continue deepening the discussion through research and creation with the students. Please look forward to future developments.
Posted by: General Affairs Section, Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC) Office