Co-creating Cultures for the Future Week
“Culture for the 21st Century: Reflections on Life”
"Why is humanities knowledge necessary in the age of AI? What does it mean to live?"
EXPO 2025 Thematic Project “Invigorating Lives” (Producer NAKAJIMA Sachiko)
Why is the Humanities Knowledge Necessary in the AI Era?
As part of "21st Century Culture: The Society for Thinking About Life," two sessions will be held.
The second session, "Why is the Humanities Knowledge Necessary in the AI Era?", examines the importance of humanities knowledge in the AI era through discussions on the future of museums, local culture, and traditional performing arts.
Recorded video available
Discussion
- Why is the Humanities Knowledge Necessary in the AI Era?
| Transmission of simultaneous interpretation | Provided |
|---|---|
| Language of interpretation | Japanese and English |
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Track Programme
- Time and
Date of
the event -
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2025.04.26[Sat]
13:40 ～ 14:55
(Venue Open 11:30)
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- Venue
- Pavilion
- 「WA」space Women's Pavilion
Programme details
*Subtitles: Choose “Subtitles/CC” in the “Settings” (gear icon) at the bottom right of the YouTube video.
*Subtitles may not show with multiple languages or overlapping audio.
Why is the Humanities Knowledge Necessary in the AI Era?
As part of "21st Century Culture: The Society for Thinking About Life," two sessions will be held.
The second session, "Why is the Humanities Knowledge Necessary in the AI Era?", examines the importance of humanities knowledge in the AI era through discussions on the future of museums, local culture, and traditional performing arts.
Reports
【Reflection 】
In this session, titled “Why is humanities knowledge necessary in the age of AI?”, four speakers took the stage: Kenichiro Ohara, Vice President, Director and Senior Advisor of the Japan Association for the 2025 International Exposition; Usubi Sako, Vice President, Director and Senior Advisor of the Japan Association for the 2025 International Exposition; Kenji Yoshida, Honorary Professor at the National Museum of Ethnology; and Nobuko Kibe, Director of the National Institute for the Humanities. The discussion was moderated by Sachiko Nakajima. Humanities knowledge was defined as “foundational knowledge about humanity,” with emphasis placed on the importance of multicultural understanding, cultural and artistic literacy, critical thinking, and face-to-face dialogue. Mr. Sako stated that the ability to ask questions is the core of humanities knowledge in the AI era, and emphasized the importance of providing young people with “experiences of shock and transformation” through the Expo as a place for dialogue. Mr. Yoshida cited the example of mask culture, which visualizes the otherworldly, and stated that while AI is a device that leads to answers, humans have the ability to ask questions and shape the unknown. Mr. Kibe pointed out the current situation where the value of the humanities is being lost, using the example of activities to preserve endangered languages and dialects, and introduced efforts to root humanistic knowledge in everyday life. Throughout the discussion, the need to nurture humans' unique cultural, critical, and creative abilities became clear, even amid the efficiency and convenience brought by technological advancements.
【Post EXPO Initiatives】
After the conference, it is important to continue disseminating the “value of humanistic knowledge” shared in this session in society and education, and to link it to concrete activities. First, educational programs and workshops aimed at cultivating the “ability to ask questions” raised by the speakers should be developed in schools, communities, and online, providing opportunities for people of all ages to participate. Second, in collaboration with cultural institutions such as the Ohara Museum of Art, the National Museum of Ethnology, and the National Institute for the Humanities, we should hold traveling exhibitions and events that allow people to experience multicultural understanding and different perspectives, thereby reducing the cultural gap between urban and rural areas. Third, we should publish cultural resource conservation activities such as the preservation of endangered languages and dialects in the form of multilingual, video, and digital archives, thereby expanding the foundation for international cultural exchange and joint research. Furthermore, by utilizing the network created at the Expo and continuing online international dialogue programs where young people from different countries and regions discuss common themes, we can nurture human resources who can demonstrate human creativity even in the AI era. Through these efforts, it is hoped that the Expo's philosophy of “Designing a Future Society Where Life Shines” will continue to thrive in cultural, educational, and social activities even after the Expo period.
Cast
Moderator
NAKAJIMA Sachiko
Thematic Project ”Invigorating Lives" (Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition)
Musician, a mathematics researcher, and a STEAM Educator. She is also CEO of steAm, Inc.,the representative director of steAm BAND Association and a thematic project producer of Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, Japan. She also serves as a STEM Girls Ambassador, Cabinet Office, and project researcher of Graduate School of Mathematical Sciences The University of Tokyo. She won the gold medal as the first Japanese woman in the International Mathematical Olympiad. She passionately conducts research on art and technology as well as music, mathematics, and education.
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Speakers
Kenichiro Oohara
Honorary Director, Ohara Museum of Art, Ohara Cultural Foundation
Born in Kobe City in 1940, raised in Kurashiki and Kyoto. Graduated from the University of Tokyo and completed coursework for a doctoral program at Yale University Graduate School. Formerly served as Vice President of Kuraray Co., Ltd. and Senior Managing Director of Chugoku Bank, Ltd.
As the Representative Director and Chairperson of ”Japan Forum for the Cultivation of Insight from the Humanities”, he advocates for the importance of "humanities knowledge," which plays a critical role in ensuring societal stability in the 21st century, and actively works to promote its dissemination.
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Pr. Oussouby Sacko
Vice President, Director and Senior Advisor of the Japan Association for the 2025 International Exposition
Born in Mali, Dr. Oussouby SACKO is a full time Professor of Architecture at the Human Environmental Design Program, Faculty of Design, and the Graduate School of Design (Architecture) in Kyoto Seika University.
He got a Master degree and a Doctor Degree of Engineering in the field of Architecture and Architecture Planning from the Graduate School of Engineering at Kyoto University, Japan. He has served as the Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Seika University from 2013 to 2017, and President of Kyoto Seika University from 2018 to 2022.
He has conducted research on the relationship between society and architecture from a variety of angles, including the "revitalization of machiya townhouses in Kyoto" and "community revitalization," and has advocated a society that recognizes diverse values from familiar perspectives in daily life.
His major publications include "「Kore kara no Sekai」wo ikiru kimi ni tsutaetaikoto" and "Afurika shusshin Sako gakucho, Nihon wo kataru".
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Kenji YOSHIDA
Vice President, Director and Senior Advisor of the Japan Association for the 2025 International Exposition
Kenji Yoshida is the former Director-General at the National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, Japan, specializing in cultural anthropology and museum anthropology. He has been carrying out fieldwork on the expressive culture and cultural heritage of Southern Africa especially in Zambia. He has also been organizing various exhibitions on art and culture by networking art museums and cultural museums. His major exhibitions and publications include Discovery of Cultures (Bunka no Hakken, in Japanese) 1999, Images of Other Cultures (ed. with John Mack, exhibition catalogue) 1997, Preserving the Cultural Heritage of Africa (ed. with John Mack) 2008, Self & Other: Portraits from Asia and Europe (ed. with Brian Durrans, exhibition catalogue) 2008, Portraits of Cultures: Networking Museology (Bunka no Shohzoh, in Japanese) 2013, The Power of Images: The National Museum of Ethnology Collection (exhibition catalogue) 2014, and Searching for the Origin of Religious Belief: Spirit churches in the Southern Africa (Shukyo no Shigen wo Motomete: Nanbu Africa Seirei Kyokai no Hitobito in Japanese) 2014.
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Nobuko KIBE
President National Institutes for the Humanities
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Co-creating Cultures for the Future Week
“Culture for the 21st Century: Reflections on Life”
"Why is humanities knowledge necessary in the age of AI? What does it mean to live?"
Why is the Humanities Knowledge Necessary in the AI Era?
As part of "21st Century Culture: The Society for Thinking About Life," two sessions will be held.
The second session, "Why is the Humanities Knowledge Necessary in the AI Era?", examines the importance of humanities knowledge in the AI era through discussions on the future of museums, local culture, and traditional performing arts.
-
2025.04.26[Sat]
13:40～14:55
(Venue Open 11:30)
- Pavilion
- * Programme times and content are subject to change. Any changes will be announced on this website and via the ticket booking system.
- * The schedule is subject to change depending on the organiser's circumstances.
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Co-creating Cultures for the Future Week
