On Thursday, February 22, 2024, starting at 1:00 PM, we will hold a hybrid symposium titled “Designing a Human-Centered Digital Society,” hosted by the Digital Society Creation Research Division of the Data-Driven Innovation Initiative. We are honored to welcome Professor Katsumi Hayakawa of Kyoto University of the Arts, an active art director and designer, as our keynote speaker. Professor Hayakawa will share his insights on the value and significance of design in a digital society, drawing from his extensive experience as a designer, as well as an educator and researcher at universities and graduate schools.

In considering the state of our digital society and its design, we must account for the fact that humans are at the center of virtual worlds and online communication. We aim to deepen discussions on this topic by incorporating perspectives from organizational psychology—such as communication and leadership—as well as ELSI, which has recently become a key topic in educational and learning research. Furthermore, we will explore how to approach the digital society from the perspective of fundamental social components, specifically law and constitutional studies.

The Digital Society Creation Research Division regularly holds research meetings, but we decided to host this symposium at the end of the fiscal year to consolidate our activities. After consulting with Director Taniguchi, Professor Uchida, Professor Arakawa, and Professor Nakamura, we agreed to move forward with the event. For the keynote speaker, I wanted to create an opportunity to hear from someone who has built a career not only in research but also through practical experience in the field of design. I reached out to Professor Hayakawa, who was at the University of Tokyo with Professor Yuhei Yamauchi—a mentor who has supported me since my time as a specially appointed assistant professor. Beyond his background as a designer, Professor Hayakawa is also active in Educational Technology, and I have often attended presentations by his students at academic conferences (I always find them interesting because their research is well-designed before implementation). I believe he is the perfect person to speak on the theme of design in a digital society. I apologize for the sudden request, and I am truly grateful that he accepted.

While this is an important perspective in education and learning, our daily lives are also being qualitatively transformed by data-driven services, not just information and communication technology. While these advancements bring convenience, they can also lead to unexpected outcomes that we did not intend. The digital society is already here, and we are its members. I hope that this symposium will serve as an opportunity for each of us to think deeply about design as digitalization progresses, and to reflect on how we want to live, and how we want to shape ourselves, our communities, and our country.

We look forward to your participation. Please register via the form here.

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Data-Driven Innovation Initiative: Digital Society Creation Research Division Symposium
— Designing a Human-Centered Digital Society —

Data is being collected and utilized in various aspects of our living environment, and the analysis of this data is making our lives more comfortable and less burdensome. Furthermore, the recent use of generative AI has made it easy to obtain answers to various questions, and the convenience brought about by data utilization continues to grow. However, alongside the benefits of data utilization, there is a risk of building a society where invisible things are visualized through the integration of multiple datasets, leading to unintended data usage, such as privacy infringements. To avoid such a society, we believe it is necessary to design the ideal form of a digital society in advance and build it—including data utilization—according to that design. In this symposium, to consider the design of the digital society we should aim for, we welcome Professor Katsumi Hayakawa of Kyoto University of the Arts, who has designed various spaces, as our keynote speaker. He will discuss designs that enhance human comfort, which he has observed through his many years of practice as a designer, and the perspectives necessary to realize such designs. Following this, we will discuss the digital society we should aim for from diverse perspectives, including law and constitutional studies, digital video design, organizational psychology, and Web informatics.

Date and Time: Thursday, February 22, 2023, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Venue: Inamori Hall, Inamori Foundation Memorial Building, Ito Campus (Hybrid event)

Moderator: Masanori Yamada (Professor, Data-Driven Innovation Initiative, Kyushu University)

13:00-13:05 Opening Remarks: Rinichiro Taniguchi (Executive Vice President, Kyushu University,
Deputy Director, Data-Driven Innovation Initiative)

13:05-13:45 Keynote Speech: Katsumi Hayakawa (Professor, Kyoto University of the Arts)
“The Value of Design in a Digital Society: Lessons from Sign Design”

13:45-14:00 Report: Data-Driven Digital Society Creation Research at Kyushu University (Tentative)
Yusuke Oishi (Professor/Director, Data-Driven Innovation Initiative, Kyushu University)

14:00-14:10 Break

14:10-15:45 Panel Discussion
12 minutes per perspective
1. From the perspective of Law and Constitutional Studies: Kensuke Kajiwara (Associate Professor, Faculty of Arts and Science, Kyushu University)
2. From the perspective of Digital Video Design: Hiroyuki Matsukuma (Associate Professor, Faculty of Design, Kyushu University)
3. From the perspective of Organizational Psychology: Hiroshi Ikeda (Associate Professor, Faculty of Human-Environment Studies, Kyushu University)
4. From the perspective of Web Informatics: Takatoshi Ushio (Associate Professor, Faculty of Design, Kyushu University)

Discussion
Moderator: Yusuke Oishi
Panelists: Katsumi Hayakawa, Kensuke Kajiwara, Hiroyuki Matsukuma, Hiroshi Ikeda, Takatoshi Ushio
15:45-15:55 Q&A
15:55-16:00 Closing Remarks

[Registration]
Please register via the URL below.
https://forms.office.com/r/kG6ZfRvQ8W