Over 120 high school students—primarily those considering applying to APU—and their parents participated. Thank you so much! I was very pleased to receive so many excellent questions from the high school students. I tried to explain and answer everything as thoroughly as possible, and I hope my responses resonated with everyone. According to the survey
At this salon, His Eminence Otani Guen, Head of the Otani School, and Professor Hirahara engaged in a dialogue on the anime Ghost in the Shell and the Buddhist philosophy of “Yogācāra.” As an overview of Yogācāra, the Head of the Otani Sect explained the concept of “emptiness” (śūnyatā)—the idea that all existence is constituted
As part of his recent updates, Mr. Nishihara reported on his interactions with Sri Lankan Buddhist monks in a Vietnamese temple in Texas, and on business practices that incorporate Buddhist principles, as discussed with the head of supply chain at a major semiconductor company in Kyoto. Professor Hirahara pointed out, from the perspective of “Agile
During the seminar, the two speakers discussed the background of *Ghost in the Shell* and the question of whether AI possesses a mind or soul, confirming that the 1995 animated film was a significant work created during the emergence of the AI and the Internet became widely known. Professor Hirahara pointed out that, unlike previous
One of the students in my senior-year seminar is from Gunma, and his father is Professor Omori, the current president of Kyoai Gakuen Maebashi International University. Through this connection, I was invited by the Gunma Association of Corporate Executives—of which Prof Omori is a senior member—to give a lecture. The event consisted of a 90-minute
I was invited as a guest speaker to “BEGIN,” an “inquiry-based workshop” held twice a year for high school students through the collaborative efforts of APU faculty and students. The details of the BEGIN program are as follows (https://www.apumate.net/event/begin/): [The BEGIN (Basic Education Growing Infinity Nexus) Program is a workshop designed to maximize your potential,
The main topic of the discussion centered on the findings of social science research to date regarding “basic income/BI,” including reports that a two-year experiment in Finland resulted in an increase in the employment rate and a decrease in the number of people leaving their jobs. Professor Hirahara noted that, within the research communities of
This seminar centered on the themes of “reputation economics” and “a world without money,” with discussions focused on the “evaluation economy” as explained by Toshio Okada and Elon Musk’s vision for the future. The panelists examined the possibility of a transition from a monetary economy to a credit-based economy, and ultimately to an economy based
On Friday, after finishing all my lectures at APU, I headed to JR Beppu Station and traveled directly to Okayama City via the Sonic and the Sanyo Bulle-train. There, I gave a lecture on AI and innovation at the “Kibi Keiseikai,” an organization composed of executives from medium-sized and small businesses in Okayama City, as
A discussion on the future of physical AI and manual labor was held between His Eminence Otani Guwen, Head of the Hongwanji Sect, and Professor Hirahara. Professor Hirahara described physical AI as “the fusion of robotics and AI” and discussed the background behind the development of robotics such as Aibo and Asimo in perspective. During