photographed by Barry Falk

Keisuke Suzuki is an Associate Professor at the Center for Human Nature, Artificial Intelligence, and Neuroscience (CHAIN), Hokkaido University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo in 2007 for his research on computational models of biological autonomy. Following his doctoral studies, he conducted cognitive neuroscience research using virtual reality (VR) at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute, where he developed the "Substitutional Reality (SR)" system—a platform designed to manipulate an individual’s conviction of reality.

From 2011, he spent a decade as a research fellow at the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, UK, developing innovative VR platforms for studying embodied self-consciousness. His work on the "Hallucination Machine," which integrates deep learning with VR to simulate altered states of perception, has gained significant international media attention. His expertise spans cognitive neuroscience, consciousness science, artificial intelligence, and artificial life. He serves on the Board of Directors for the International Society for Artificial Life (ISAL) and is a member of the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness (ASSC). His current research focuses on the multi-layered understanding of consciousness through the themes of embodiment, presence, agency, and altered states of consciousness.

鈴木啓介

北海道大学 人間知・脳・AI研究教育センター（CHAIN）准教授。 2007年、東京大学大学院総合文化研究科博士課程修了。博士（学術）。生命の自律性に関する計算機モデルの研究で学位取得後、理化学研究所脳科学総合研究センター、英国サセックス大学意識科学研究センターでの研究員を経て現職。理化学研究所では、現実への確信を操作する「代替現実（SR）」システムを開発。サセックス大学では、深層学習と仮想現実（VR）を融合させ知覚変容を再現する「幻覚機械（Hallucination Machine）」の研究で、テクノロジーによる知覚探究の新たな地平を拓く。専門は認知神経科学、意識科学、人工知能、人工生命。国際人工生命学会（ISAL）理事、国際意識科学協会（ASSC）会員。現在は、身体性、現実感、変性意識などを軸に、意識の多層的な理解を目指す研究を行っている。