Tokyo Tech Strategic Research Field SSI Next-generation Social Infrastructure We Envision 5th Session
Redesigning the Information Society
Prof. Kazutoshi Sasahara, Asst. Prof. Yuki Taoka
School of Environment and Society
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SSI has established four themes, “Building a Resilient Society,” “Designing Voice of the Earth,” “Creating Smart Cities,” and “Innovation,” to move toward the future society that we want to create. For this issue, we have invited Professor Kazutoshi Sasahara and Assistant Professor Yuki Taoka from the School of Environment and Society to talk to us about the theme of “Innovation.” We asked about their current research and what they expect from SSI.
Researching social issues caused by the spread of fake news and deepfakes
—First of all, what kind of research do you do, Professor Sasahara?
Sasahara: My research field is computational social science, which is social science for the digital age that makes full use of computers. It aims to derive insights from the analysis of big data to help solve social issues, and to use technology to solve social issues and spark innovation.
In particular, for about six years now, I have been concerned about fake news as a serious social issue, and researched it. This is a phenomenon in which unreliable information spreads on the internet. At present, I am conducting the analysis of big data and research into computational methods, as well as conducting proof-of-concept experiments, with the aim of putting forward technology to curb the spread of fake news.
—Why did you start this research, Professor Sasahara?
Sasahara: I majored in physics at university, but when I was a postdoctoral researcher, I came across computational social science and was fascinated by it. At the time, I began research to analyze the big data of social media that were just starting to emerge, and to interpret social phenomena. This was in 2016, when I was affiliated with Indiana University in the U.S. This was the year that President Trump was elected, and fake news was flooding social media every day.
The data analysis revealed a fractured society. For example, when I analyzed who retweeted whose comments, I found that liberals retweeted comments from liberals, and conservatives retweeted comments from conservatives, showing a major divide between the two groups. I thought this had a lot to do with the spread of fake news, so I started researching fake news.
Prof. Sasahara
—Recently, with the advent of generative AI, the rapid increase in deepfakes has become a major social problem, hasn’t it?
Sasahara: The spread of rumors and propaganda is a phenomenon that has existed since long ago. So what is different now? First of all, the advent of social media has led to the rapid dissemination of information on a large scale. Second, the quality of the fakes. Generative AI and other methods have made it possible to easily create false rumors that cannot be distinguished from reality.
As a result, various problems have come to light, such as incorrect decision-making and political turmoil. Information technology is amplifying our natural tendency to see what we want to see. I see a major problem here.
Fake news and deepfakes cleverly exploit people’s prejudices, discriminatory attitudes, cognitive biases, and emotions such as anger and sympathy. It is not feasible to solve this problem using reason and education alone. Technology that supports correct decision-making and judgment is essential.
Ensuring the reliability of information to create a safe and secure information society
—What kind of research are you working on?
Sasahara: Most recently, I have been working on a project called CREST, run by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), in collaboration with researchers from the National Institute of Informatics (NII), to develop AI (artificial intelligence) that can detect deepfakes. We can already detect deepfakes with a high degree of accuracy. In order to prevent them from spreading, my laboratory is exploring how it should be implemented in social systems through experiments.
A specific example would be an experiment where we have about 300 test subjects participate online and show them deepfake and non-deepfake images at random. If the AI judges the image to be a deepfake, it sends out a warning and we observe the response in participants. This proof-of-concept experiment shows that the timing, frequency, and method of issuing warning messages have a significant impact on curbing the spread of deepfakes.
As this is still at the basic research stage, we plan to pass on the results of CREST to the new “Key and Advanced Technology R&D through Cross Community Collaboration Program (commonly known as the K Program)” being launched by the Cabinet Office.
—So you’re saying that you’re “redesigning the information society.”
Sasahara: Until now, we have been exchanging information on the internet with a high level of reliability. However, if the information is unreliable or it is impossible to distinguish between correct and incorrect information, the basic premise of reliability is fundamentally undermined. This can be a hindrance to innovation. Ensuring the reliability of information is an urgent issue. We aim to achieve a safe and secure information society by implementing the technology to do so.
Researching the shape of the future society using digital twins and metaverse
—Next, what kind of research do you do, Assistant Professor Taoka?
Taoka: I specialize in the field of research called design research. I have a strong sense that there are many outstanding technologies that could be used to solve social issues, but in many cases, they are not being used effectively. In response to this, I am researching how to support people who are coming up with and developing technologies to solve social issues.
To this end, I am working on promoting participatory projects related to social issues using co-design methods. For example, in the “Future Living Lab” project, which aims for “diverse people to solve various social issues, think about ideas that will bring us closer to the future we want, and implement them,” we are exchanging opinions and discussing issues of our future society, such as “food in the future” and “how to work in the future,” with various people, including students, companies, and NPOs.
Asst.Prof.Taoka
Listening to the voices of those on the front line is essential to solving social issues
—What about “redesigning the information society”?
Taoka: Our future society and the information society are inextricably linked. Therefore, when considering the future information society, I think it will be necessary to consider things like who should manage data related to autonomous driving and medical care, and how this can be linked to a safe, secure, and prosperous information society. Just as there is a problem with dealing with fake news, if we don’t think about technology and systems that allow people to control information correctly already from the stage of technological development, the future we want will not arrive. It is important to think about the shape of the information society of the future and provide feedback to those currently engaged in research and development of information technology.
In addition, under the JST’s “Advanced Intelligent Information Society” project, which is part of the JST-Mirai program, we are working on “designing a new future society” through digital twins that make full use of AI, big data, and IoT. More specifically, we are building digital twins and metaverses that replicate caregiving environments, such as a nursery school, and considering how to utilize the information possessed by those working in the caregiving environment within them.
For example, childcare workers have a lot of tacit knowledge, such as knowledge and know-how related to childcare and support. However, the information is kept within the nursery schools where they work. If they can share information with other childcare workers and families with small children, the quality of childcare and support will surely improve. So, we are going to build a digital twin on the internet and share tacit knowledge about support within it. For example, information such as “this kind of place is dangerous for infants, so this kind of safety measure is effective” can be mapped in the digital twin.
However, we are still in the stage of basic research to determine what information should be placed in the digital twin and how. For this reason, we are currently providing a digital twin as a forum for discussion, and we are having the parties concerned and diverse experts participate as avatars and exchange opinions. In fact, we have received active feedback and suggestions from childcare workers, such as “If I had this kind of information, I would like to share it” and “This space is difficult to use, so it would be good to improve it in this way.”
—Why did you start this research, Assistant Professor Taoka?
Taoka: I originally studied in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, and when I was in my third year, I went to the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to take part in an extracurricular program called “Solving Local Issues.” At that time, I became keenly aware that in order to solve issues, it is essential to listen to the voices of the people involved and the people on the front line. So, after returning to Japan, I began researching co-design, which is to design society by integrating the opinions of various people.
Participants in the “Future Living Lab” workshop
Collaboration in a digital twin having a photogrammetry of a nursery
Expectations for SSI
—We asked both of you about your research. What are your thoughts on each other’s research?
Sasahara: Tacit knowledge that was originally not shared with anyone can be transformed into explicit knowledge or collective knowledge through information technology, and can even be converted into value. I felt that there was a similarity between my research and Assistant Professor Taoka’s in that we were both researching how to make use of tacit knowledge gathered through information technology.
Taoka: After hearing about Professor Sasahara’s research, I also felt that we had the same goal. In order to implement the technologies that society really needs, it is essential to have the participation of citizens. I was reminded that our role is to use information technology to find out about people’s needs and incorporate them into society.
—In closing, could you please discuss your expectations for SSI?
Taoka: It’s interesting to be able to hear from people from different fields who participate in SSI. Moving forward, I would like to actively exchange opinions with other researchers at SSI and make use of them in my research.
Sasahara: I would like to do collaborative research with someone who has a high level of expertise in a field different from my own. Therefore, I want to do my part as a member of SSI to help it gain a level of recognition and brand power so that simply by saying, “I’m a member of SSI,” I can easily secure meetings for collaborative research.
—Thank you very much for participating in today’s discussion.
Kazutoshi Sasahara
Professor, Department of Innovation Science, School of Environment and Society, Tokyo Institute of Technology
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2000.3 Graduated from Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Chuo University
2002.3 Completed Master's program in Physics, Graduate School of Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University
2005.3 Completed Doctoral program in Multidisciplinary Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo (Ph.D.)
2005.4 Researcher, RIKEN Brain Science Institute
2008.4 JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow
2009.4 Visiting Researcher, University of California, Los Angeles (until 2010.3)
2011.4 Researcher, FIRST Aihara Innovative Mathematical Modelling Project
2012.6 Assistant Professor, Department of Complex Systems Science, Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University
2018.1 Lecturer, Department of Complex Systems Science, Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University
2016.4 Visiting Researcher, Indiana University Bloomington (until 2017.3)
2016.12 JST PRESTO Researcher (concurrent position, until 2020.3)
2020.9 Associate Professor, Department of Innovation Science, School of Environment and Society, Tokyo Institute of Technology
2024.4 Visiting Professor, National Institute of Informatics
2024.4 Current position
Yuki Taoka
Assistant Professor, Department of Transdisciplinary Science and Engineering, School of Environment and Society, Tokyo Institute of Technology
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2014.3 Tokyo Institute of Technology School of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Science
2016.3 Tokyo Insitute of Technology Graduate School of Engineering Department of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering
2019.3 Tokyo Insitute of Technology School of Engineering Department of Mechanical Engineering Graduate Major of Engineering Sciences and Design
2019.4 Current Position
Published: September 2024
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