Workshop of the Research Initiative

‘Technology & Society in Japan and Beyond’

Abstract:

Technical artefacts, technologies and infrastructures are shaping our everyday life in manifold ways. At the same time, their development, promotion and/or rejection is influenced by cultural patterns, ethical principles, social values as well as power relations. Thus, their study can be perceived as a promising starting-point for transdisciplinary and intercultural queries for research on intersections between Science, Technology and Society. In this workshop, we bring together scholars who share an interest in the analysis of co-construction processes of technology and society in Japan and beyond. What kind of visions exist in relation to autonomous driving in Japan? How can visions of technology-assisted care be co-created in Germany? What differences can be found in intercultural comparisons of AI ethics between the UK and Japan? What are success factors for co-creation approaches to transform social systems in Japanese municipalities? Moreover, which models or ideas of “participation” in development exist?

Our research initiative aims at fostering a network of scholars of Japanese Studies and those from other disciplines with interest in methodologies and comparative research across different countries on topics such as medical technologies and care robotics, digital transformation and AI, mobility and autonomous driving, to mention a few. Furthermore, it strives to broaden linkages between the Japanese and the European research community of Science, Technology and Society and beyond.

Organisatorinnen:

Dr. Susanne Brucksch (DIJ Tokyo)

Dr. Cosima Wagner (Freie Universität Berlin)

Programm:

16:00 Tokyo // 09:00 Berlin Greetings and Opening Remarks

Susanne Brucksch, DIJ

16:10 Tokyo // 09:10 Berlin    Session A: User, Visions and Technology Development

• Incentive Talk: Reflections on Participative Methods in Technology Development Research

Cosima Wagner, Freie Universität Berlin

• Visions of Autonomous Driving in Japan

Yukari Yamasaki, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

• Visualizing Socio-Technological Lifeworlds with Design Fiction and Zine Making Methods

Richard Paluch, Tanja Ertl, Katarina Cerna & Claudia Müller, Information Systems, University of Siegen

Discussants: Naonori Kodate, University College Dublin & Susanne Brucksch, DIJ

Q&A

17:30 Tokyo // 10:30 Berlin    Short Break

17:45 Tokyo // 10:45 Berlin    Session B: Ethics, Health and Technology in Context

• Incentive Talk: Should we embrace or reject public images of robots? Ideas from the project RoMi on designing a robot for health care institutions

Peter Remmert, Technical University Berlin

• Introducing the PATH-AI Project: Mapping an Intercultural Path to Privacy, Agency and Trust in Human-AI Ecosystems

James Wright, Alan Turing Institute, UK

• What kind of co-creation approach can transform social systems? A case study from a Japanese medium-sized city

Atsunobu Kimura, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West Corporation, Japan

Discussant: Patrick Grüneberg, Kanazawa University

Q&A

19:15 Tokyo // 12:15 Berlin    Session C: Open Exchange on Ongoing Projects

Cosima Wagner, Freie Universität Berlin

19:45 Tokyo // 12:45 Berlin    End of Workshop

This workshop is kindly supported by: UCD Centre for Japanese Studies, University College Dublin (UCD), Ireland

Abstracts of talks, Speaker Biography, and Registration