Notes from the President's Office No.14

March 13, 2026

Professor Kohei Itoh
President, Keio University

Over the next three years, Keio University aims to become the world's top human-centered AI-native campus. By "human-centered," I mean a campus that brings people together to develop cutting-edge AI systems, and compete at the vanguard of AI technology. In the second half of my New Year's address at the start of this year (2026), I emphasized how curiosity is the quality needed most in the age of AI. Allow me to reproduce that section of my address below.

Young people look to generative AI for advice about almost anything these days. Generative AI never denies its user. Instead, it provides endless support and will carry on a conversation ad infinitum. At the same time, young people also use social media to stay connected with friends and the greater public, yet they are constantly exposed to the threat of cyberbullying and social exclusion on those platforms. Moreover, they might feel pressure to reply immediately as soon as they open a message. In these circumstances, one has to wonder: what will become of direct human relationships, which ought to be the cornerstone of society? In my view, educational institutions in this present day and age have an onus to cultivate curiosity to the fullest extent. An article I contributed on education was published in the morning edition of The Nikkei on January 5. In the article, I wrote:

"Curiosity is key to maintaining mental independence and dignity. Curiosity also serves as the source of a person's sense of initiative, their aspiration for self-improvement, and their connections with others. Even when working with generative AI, people who pose diverse questions and inquisitively seek to broaden their knowledge and imagination will continue to grow. By contrast, growth is difficult for those who remain passive in their interactions with generative AI, viewing AI as merely an efficiency tool.

To foster curiosity, primary and secondary education both play a critically important role. At the elementary and junior high school level, it is ideal to create an environment in which students can thoroughly explore their favorite subjects beyond the boundaries of what their grade level offers them, and grow further by teaching those skills to their peers. Next, in high school, students will ideally acquire a broad education. Students need to come into contact with the 'real thing' across a wide range of subjects, whether they be the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, medicine, or another subject. It is precisely because we live in the age of AI that by building on the curiosity and foundational academic skills cultivated in elementary and junior high school and immersing oneself in cross-disciplinary liberal arts education in high school, one's interests and future direction will gradually come into focus."

So, I ask you all here, where do you think you can find schools capable of putting this into practice? The answer is, of course, Keio University's affiliated schools. At the university level, our goal is to further advance education and research by offering classes, extracurricular activities, study-abroad opportunities, and more that meet the expectations of curiosity-driven Keio students, while also providing a digital infrastructure through state-of-the-art AI technology, itself an object of intellectual curiosity in its own right. Students brimming with curiosity make full use of all the resources Keio has to offer. That is precisely the reason why Keio shall continue to provide the very best resources. If students are full of curiosity, they will unhurriedly learn at their own pace. For that very reason, Keio provides students with ample opportunities for educational detours and exploration; then, even after graduation, we wish for them to continue pursuing diverse forms of learning and challenges, and to devote themselves to bettering society, just like Yukichi Fukuzawa. With my sincere request for your continued support for the further development of Keio University, I conclude my New Year's address."

For today's "Note from the President's Office," I would like to pick up where I left off with the New Year's address, by explaining what it means to compete with AI.

Professional shogi player Sota Fujii found himself able to reach new heights by harnessing the formidable power of AI. Fujii did not simply consult AI in a game; no, he competed against it. Fujii acknowledges that in a board game like shogi with a finite set of rules, AI will inevitably be stronger than humans. The strongest AI opponent today can see all the possible outcomes in an instant and make the optimal move based on that knowledge. However, the corpus of possible moves is far too enormous for any one human to fathom in full. What makes Fujii such an impressive shogi player is that he is able to scan a vast array of possibilities and pluck out a move his opponents least expect. In other words, Fujii is an innovator. He learned this technique as a result of having competed with AI.

In a similar vein, social scientist Shunya Yoshimi wrote about competing with his "AI Yoshimi-kun" in a recent book, Jibun to no Taiwa: Shakaikagakusha, Jibun no AI to Tatakau ("A Dialogue with Oneself: A Social Scientist Competes against His AI"), published by Shueisha. AI Yoshimi-kun is Professor Yoshimi's AI alter ego. The AI was trained by feeding it all the books, essays, interviews, and unpublished notes written over the human Yoshimi's nearly 45-year career. Throughout the course of his conversations with AI Yoshimi-kun on various current issues, the human Yoshimi thoroughly gains the upper hand in ways that are impressive and exhilarating. This book offers insights into how human intelligence can hold its own against artificial intelligence.

So, how will the showdown with AI unfold on Keio's campus? The mission of Keio University is to contribute to the sound development of society as a whole through education and research. To that end, through our engagement in education and research, we strive to advance various social partnerships. Yet education is oriented toward living, breathing humans, and spans a diverse gamut of research disciplines. It is not a world where victory or defeat is determined within the bounds of a strictly delimiting ruleset, as in shogi. Nor is there any standard by which one can measure the "real Yoshimi" against his AI counterpart to judge their work. Education and research have an infinite scope that can never be fully covered, no matter how much AI technology develops. The same applies to the ideal state of society and economic activities. That is why we need human initiative and teamwork, things that cannot be relegated to AI. As a tool of modern civilization that has begun to make great advances, it is no longer possible to ignore AI. If that is the case, then we must continue to compete in the "contest" of coexisting with AI while continuing to exercise our independence as human beings. For this contest to have meaning, we must test our mettle against the strongest AI. That is why Keio University will promote advanced AI research, collaborates with leading AI companies, and provides the highest standard AI environment for its students, faculty, and staff. Simultaneously, we will lead the development of legal systems and ethics to ensure human agency in an AI-based society. *1

Advanced AI research is being driven by various centers and projects established by the Keio Global Research Institute (KGRI). In particular, the Keio AI Center serves as the flagship center engaging in cutting-edge industry-academia collaboration on advanced AI research with Carnegie Mellon University, a leading university in the fields of AI and robotics. Moreover, the Keio AI Center itself plays a leading role for AI research in Japan.

In order for our students at Keio to face AI with the right mindset, they must first understand how their own daily lives are shaped by it. When a person turns on their smartphone, AI presents them information tailored to their preferences, interests, and values. When running web searches, AI optimizes and displays search results by learning the user's past browsing history and other behavior. While these mechanisms are convenient, they also quietly magnify information bias. We must not underestimate their impact. After all, there's a danger that AI could begin steering our thought processes, and start making decisions for us, without our even realizing it. That is why our students must learn, while they are still at Keio, how to gain a competitive edge in order not to cede their autonomy to AI. All too many people assume they hold the reins, when in reality, they are the ones being manipulated by AI. Whether in one's studies, research, or post-graduate work, the time is coming when only those who can prove their uniqueness by confronting and competing with the strongest AI will be able to maintain their independence and self-respect. Because of this, Keio University will develop programs focusing on themes of independence and self-respect in the age of AI.

As for faculty and staff, rather than resisting AI at every turn, the coming era may test the ability to delegate simple rote tasks to AI, and then apply their professional expertise to evaluate and ensure responsibility for the output. This will free up time to devote to creative educational design, the promotion of innovative research, and high-level academic management. The more sophisticated one's own work becomes, the more important it is to proactively carry out one's job through cooperation and competition with AI. However, we do not need to struggle on our own. It is important for faculty and staff members to share their knowledge and wisdom with each other, and to create an environment in which this can be done using AI as well. In order to foster this kind of initiative and teamwork, it will be important for faculty and staff to take various "detours" guided by their curiosity. I expect we will still also need to learn and think, away from AI and IT. One cannot emphasize enough the importance of turning off your computers and joining together with other live human beings to enjoy actual relationships, sports, hobbies, and other activities.

Personally, I love tennis. Over the course of a tennis match, competitors gain and cede points, working toward the ultimate goal of victory at the end. Similarly, as we keep score against the most formidable AI opponent, if we keep our eye on the prize at the completion of each task, we will maintain our own independence and self-respect, foster a spirit of teamwork together in friendly competition with AI, and develop our powers of imagination and creativity. This is the essence of education and research at an AI-native campus, and this is the challenge that lies ahead of us now.

*1 See works and initiatives such as AI no Rinri: Ningen to no Kankei wa Tsukureruka("AI and Ethics: Can Relations with Humans Be Made?"), edited by Satoshi Kurihara and published by Kadokawa Shinsho, and "Proposal on the Role of News Organizations in the AI Era" put forth by Keio University's X-Dignity Center in 2026.