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WOI ’23 Panel Discussion on AI with Successful Alumni Inspires Waseda Students
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WOI ’23 Panel Discussion on AI with Successful Alumni Inspires Waseda Students

Wed, Dec 13, 2023
WOI ’23 Panel Discussion on AI with Successful Alumni Inspires Waseda Students
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Okuma Auditorium, Waseda Campus –

On November 10th, Okuma Auditorium, which stands as the symbol of Waseda University, once again hosted an important event and witnessed the return of four illustrious alumni. Autumn had started in Tokyo, and while the sky filled with grey clouds threatening rain, the auditorium soon became packed with nearly a thousand people – journalists, university staff, students, and the general public, all gathered waiting expectantly for the four guests to appear on the stage for the Waseda Open Innovation Forum 2023.

Soon enough, the lights faded, and the four alumni were met with a big round of applause. Toyota’s President, Member of the Board of Directors, and CEO Koji Sato, Panasonic’s Chief Executive Officer Masahiro Shinada, Sony’s President, COO and CFO Hiroki Totoki and Boston Consulting Group’s Co-Chairperson-Japan Reiko Akiike all took the stage as key figures of global companies representing the world. The four guests honored us with their presence on this special occasion to discuss the emergence of Artificial Intelligence in their respective fields.

From left: Koji Fujiwara*1, Masahiro Shinada, Hiroki Totoki, Koji Sato, Reiko Akiike, and Aiji Tanaka*2
*1 Vice President for Strategic Management, and Business-University Collaboration, Waseda University
*2 President, Waseda University

University Alumni Return to Campus as a Big Family

The foundations of a warm and pleasant atmosphere were laid from the beginning as Ms. Akiike, who took upon the role of facilitator for this panel, started by joking along with Mr. Totoki on how they were not that familiar with Okuma Auditorium, as they did not have many opportunities to come as students. Mr. Shinada, who happened to be an upperclassman of Mr. Totoki during their university days, jested about the Okuma Auditorium, giving the audience a good laugh. Finally, it was Mr. Sato’s turn to introduce himself, and he did not miss the chance to add his own touch of friendliness by referring to Mr. Totoki and Mr. Shinada as his elder brothers, comparing their relationship to a family.

Discussing AI and Human Creativity

Ms. Akiike then started prompting the three CEOs with questions regarding AI, which she underlined as being an important recent matter. She observed how only two years ago, the majority of people were not thinking about this topic. It is really since last year that AI entered our daily lives, and even students have now started to consider the practical use of AI.

Indeed, while the European Union is aiming to reach an agreement on the first comprehensive AI act by the end of this year, discussions with AI at their center are also flourishing in the academic and professional spheres.

During the discussion, Mr. Totoki underlined the importance of human creativity as a fundamental need which AI cannot replace. As a representative of Sony, he gave us a good idea of how the company would use and study AI to conduct training and enhance employee performance in terms of creativity and innovation. Mr. Shinada agreed with this stance, reaffirming that AI uses logic and not creativity, as the latter cannot occur without the direct presence of humans. Following this statement, Mr. Sato took the chance to share an anecdote. Recently, he had to compose a speech for the Japan Mobility Show. He tried, out of curiosity, to ask ChatGPT to write a speech that would resemble what he would actually write himself. He confessed that he felt like the text provided by the AI was very similar to what he would have written by himself. He then determinedly explained that, despite its similarity, something felt different or wrong with ChatGPT’s text. Mr. Sato remarked that he believed this “something” was an important element missing in the current state of AI, which in the end, always depends on people. Of course, Mr. Sato assured the audience that he did eventually write the speech himself.

As generative AI represents enormous transformative potential for many industries, Ms. Akiike raised the question of whether people will become more busy or less busy with the arrival of such technology. According to Mr. Shinada, AI provides the chance for people to have more time to think and develop a blooming society. For Mr. Totoki, people have always been and will always be busy. He used the example of the emergence of the internet, which raised similar questions when it first appeared. He commented that paradigms change, but in the end, we are all kept busy.

Words for University Students

As the event was also an occasion to reach out to students, Ms. Akiike chose to end the panel discussion by requesting each speaker to give a message to students. Mr. Shinada started off encouraging students from Waseda University to aim to be number 1 in the world. Mr. Sato then invited the students to stay true to themselves and support Japan. Mr. Totoki, recommended the students not to box themselves in, but rather to grow through networking while acknowledging diversity. He underlined, at the same time, how important it is to have ambition. Ms. Akiike then proceeded to close the discussion with a precious reminder that as society is moving fast, one’s opinion can also change and that despite the progress made with AI, one should not stop thinking for oneself and keep doors open for unexpected answers.

Discussions such as this are a chance for students to learn how to articulate their knowledge and ideas in a world that keeps on moving. Apart from the question of AI, this event was a great opportunity to become more acquainted with these four key figures, who are indisputably a source of inspiration for students. Not only for those from the Faculty of Science and Engineering or the Faculty of Commerce, the two faculties from which these guests have graduated, but also for all the students who aspire to bring their own contribution to the history of humanity someday.

*This article was written by the following student.
Student Contributor
Jodie Steiner
School of Social Sciences


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