・Course Group: Recognition of Social Issues
・Course Name: TAL.S503 Professionals and Value Creation II
・Program Name: Challenges in the VUCA age:- Changing the society using basic technologies of AI –
・Guest Speaker: Dr Keiichi Kisamori, Data Science Lab., NEC Corp – Principal, Bird Initiative, Inc.
・Date & Time: 8/Feb/2021 18:00-20:00 by ZOOM
On February 8th Dr Keiichi Kisamori was invited as a speaker of the Professionals and Value Creation 2 course. Dr Kisamori obtained his PhD from the University of Tokyo and went on to publish several research papers. He now holds the position of senior researcher at NEC and he is the Principal of Bird Initiative, inc. During his lecture, Dr Kisamori spoke about the applications of AI in the real world and the values of being a researcher.
Using AI to improve the world
Dr Kisamori began his lecture by introducing his company, BIRD INITIATIVE Inc., was established in 2020. Technologies of BIRD have been developed by AIST and NEC to integrate AI and simulation models to support decision making.
These technologies are important, as machine learning require huge amounts of data to compute accurate predictions, but this data is not always readily available. Bird Initiative takes data sets that are limited in size and generates complementing data with deep learning.
This technology was adopted successfully to optimize the design process in the manufacturing industry. Dr Kisamori created a Digital Twin of the production line; a cyberspace representation of the machines used in manufacturing. He then ran some simulations by applying his models to this virtual space and then used the results to improve the design of the machines in the real world.
This is a perfect example of how AI technologies can impact the real world and improve the workflow of businesses.
The values of being a researcher
In the second half of the lecture, Dr Kisamori talked about his life as a researcher and why it is worth to pursue a doctorate. For him, research is fun, as it is a big challenge against yourself. As a researcher, your results are the most important thing, as you have to seek sponsors and funding. At one point during his PhD, he had so little time that he had to buy a portable bed for sleeping in his laboratory.
Despite these inconveniences, Dr Kisamori believes that the skills acquired during his doctorate are invaluable, and companies are always looking to hire such high skilled individuals.
Furthermore, these skills can be used to find new problems and challenges that can spark new businesses that will affect people’s lives directly.
In conclusion, Dr Kisamori strongly recommends passionate people to pursue a doctorate in their field. The skills you will acquire during your PhD will bring immense value to both your life and the life of people around you.
My impressions
Dr Kisamori’s talk was brilliant. It showed some real applications of Machine Learning and how this technology can be harnessed in creative ways to improve existing businesses. The lecture also spoke to me on a personal level, as I will pursue my PhD from this September. Despite the daunting amount of work, Dr Kisamori’s positive experience reassures me that continuing my studies is the correct choice. I only hope to be as successful in my endeavors as Dr Kisamori is in his own.
(Reported by Marcello Gecchele, School of Computing, Department of Computer science Master in Artificial Intelligence, 2nd year, 2019 ToTAL student)
