Prof. Xiangshi Ren of Kochi University of Technology, Japan

This talk shares my thoughts of the past 10 years: What is the ideal relationship between humans and technology? We are faced with a crisis of human survival caused, in part, by today's technology which demands that we extend our bodies and minds extend ever outwards. Therefore, my colleagues and I proposed an ideological system called Human-Engaged Computing (HEC). HEC draws upon Eastern and Western thought to achieve a truly humancentered theoretical framework for thinking about technological development. HEC advocates that technological research and development should be oriented towards improving the human Xin/心 - inner human transcendence, eliminating the inner uneasiness and slavishness, inadvertently caused by technological dominance over human beings. So, we are seeking to achieve “the right balance（中庸）”, an understanding of the optimal view of technology that will serve humanity in its stewardship of the totality of existence. We expect this to be a fluid enterprise that accounts for the plurality of human cultures and values, but one which respects our common requirement for survival, harmony, peace and prosperity. In this way, human beings need not suffer extinction on the one hand, or subjugation to increasingly powerful AI on the other, and sustainable human development, sustainable world peace and sustainable technological development may be achieved. 

Biography:

Xiangshi REN is a lifetime tenured professor in the School of Informatics and founding director of the Center for Human-Engaged Computing (CHEC) at Kochi University of Technology. He is a member of the Engineering Academy of Japan (EAJ), a fellow of the Information Processing Society of Japan (IPSJ), a senior member of the ACM and senior member of the IEEE. He is founding president and honorary lifetime president of the International Chinese Association of Computer Human Interaction (ICACHI). He has been named as one of the Asian Human-Computer Interaction Heroes in ACM CHI 2015. He was a visiting professor at the University of Toronto and several universities in China, visiting faculty researcher at IBM Research (Almaden). Prof. Ren has been working on fundamental studies in the field of human-computer Interaction (HCI) for around 30 years. In recent years, he and his colleagues have established a new conceptual framework: Human-Engaged Computing (HEC) for rethinking the relationship between humans and computers which refers to the synergism of human capacities and technological capabilities. 

Address:Japan