Solution-Driven Co-creative R&D Program for SDGs (SOLVE for SDGs): Trust formation from social aspects in the information society
To achieve SDGs, RISTEX established the "Solution-Driven Co-creative R&D Program for SDGs (SOLVE for SDGs)" in fiscal 2019 as an R&D program aiming to create immediate solutions to regional issues with complex and wide-ranging themes by utilizing existing technology seeds, and to expand the solutions to other regions. Under this program, RISTEX also established "Preventing Social Isolation & Loneliness and Creating Diversified Social Networks" in fiscal 2021. R&D is being conducted within these frameworks.
As R&D on problems relating to information trust, we aimed to create solutions to social issues in a way similar to the above, and thus "Trust formation from social aspects in the information society (digital social trust)" was established in fiscal 2023 in the pertinent program.
Program Supervisor
YUASA Harumichi
Professor, Graduate School of Governance Studies, Meiji UniversitySocial digitalization is penetrating all aspects of life on a global scale, driven by rapid development in areas like artificial intelligence (AI) and information and communications technology (ICT).
Social digitalization has major advantages for everyone, and social convenience is expected to continue improving in the future. However, at the same time, we must look at the negative aspects brought about by digitalization.
From the standpoint of the recipients and users of information, concerns and disadvantages are proliferating, such as increasing information overload and disinformation, and heightened risk of being victimized by fraud or crime, etc. There is also increasing dissemination of information that cannot be trusted by the recipient, e.g., information dissemination where the quality and correctness of the information is secondary, and the focus is attracting the interest and attention of people.
These problems involve how "trust" is formed and maintained between information recipients and disseminators, with information itself, and toward intermediating people, organizations, and information services. As a form of "digital social trust" which also takes into account social aspects, our comprehensive efforts aim to develop countermeasures by understanding the mechanisms underlying how problems arise, grasping the involved issues, and realizing social implementation to solve those issues.
Goals
This program focuses on the concerns and disadvantages citizens encounter in acquiring and using information-social problems which arise due the emergence of an advanced information society. The aim is to identify issues, develop solutions, and conduct verification to move toward social implementation, and thereby help achieve more substantive problem solutions. This will be achieved by regarding the above issues as problems relating to how "trust" is formed between recipients and disseminators of information, with information itself, and toward intermediating people/organizations, information technology, and services.
Thus, our aim is a society that can enjoy the benefits of information technology development, as recipients and disseminators interact, by forming sound relationships of trust. This will be done by promoting activities for recommendation and verification to advance efforts from research toward social implementation, through the use of approaches from the multiple perspectives of regulation, economics, use of technology, and education, and "Convergence of Knowledge" from related academic disciplines and real-world settings.
R&D target
In the area of social issues that arise due to the advance of an information society, the focus of this program is R&D on information-related trust problems with negative impact on society, such as disinformation/misinformation and infodemics. Another focus is R&D that can help self solve problems in real-world situations based on a multifaceted approach that goes beyond just technology. More specifically, we envision the three R&D elements indicated below.
(1) Understanding the mechanism of trust formation and analyzing obstructive factors
(2) Development of measures based on analysis results
(3) Proposal of social implementation methods and effect measurement methods
R&D in these areas will be promoted in an integrated way, while also keeping society in view, so that results are applied in each of the fields "regulation/economy," "use of technology," and "education."
Management Group
Program Supervisor
| YUASA Harumichi | Professor, Graduate School of Governance Studies, Meiji University |
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Program Advisors
| ITO Hiroshi | Principal Researcher, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) |
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| OGASAHARA Morihiro | Professor, Department of Media and Communications, Toyo University |
| KANEKO Keiko | Visiting Researcher, JIPDEC |
| KOMATSU Ayako | Professor, Notre Dame Seishin University / Professor Emeritus, Nagasaki University |
| KONDO Noriko | Secretariat, Routeku (Geriatric Technology) study group |
| SAKURA Osamu | Professor, Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, The University of Tokyo / Team Leader, Center for Advanced Intelligence Project (AIP), RIKEN |
| TAIRA Kazuhiro | Professor, College of Arts and Sciences, J. F. Oberlin University |
| HAMAGUCHI Narichika | Senior Manager, Corporate Planning Department, Japan Broadcasting Corporation |
| MATSUMOTO Yasushi | Fellow,NPO Japan Network Security Association |
| MURAKAMI Yuko | Professor, Graduate School of Artificial Intelligence and Science Artificial Intelligence and Science, Rikkyo University |
| YAMAMOTO Tatsuhiko | Professor, Law School, Keio University |
About the Program Supervisor
Professor Yuasa's specialty is information law, and he has been engaged for many years in research, education, and development of human resources, with a focus on information security. In fields focused on technology R&D-i.e., preventing unauthorized intrusion and spread of malware in computer systems in order to prevent leaks of personal/confidential information-he has led research striving for social humanities and sciences (HSS integration), while forging links between law, social systems, economics, and publicness. When this program was established, he had held a series of important posts in interdisciplinary academic societies: the Association for Cybersecurity Law and Policy, Japan (where he is the Deputy Director), the Japanese Association of Electoral Studies, the Information Network Law Association Japan, and the Japan Society of Security Management. On the other hand, he has also worked as the Chief Information Security Advisor for the Ministry of the Environment, and held key posts at the Ministry of Justice, Japan Coast Guard, the National Center of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity, and digitalization expert committees for local governments. He has contributed to concrete problem solving in areas like promoting collaborative activities and recommending policies for supporting social implementation of new information technologies and developing related legislation.
This program focuses on the concerns and troubles citizens encounter in acquiring and using information-social problems which arise due the emergence of an advanced information society. The aim is to identify issues, develop solutions, realize social implementation, and thereby help achieve more substantive problem solutions. This will be achieved by regarding the above issues as problems relating to how "trust" is formed between recipients and disseminators of information, with information itself, and toward intermediating people/organizations, information technology, and services. For that purpose, we will need to promote activities for recommendation and verification to advance efforts from research toward social implementation. This will be achieved through the use of approaches from the multiple perspectives of regulation, economics, use of technology, and education, and "Convergence of Knowledge" from related academic disciplines and real-world settings. Through the course of his career, Professor Yuasa has cultivated interdisciplinary knowledge focused on information technology and legal systems, experience collaborating with diverse stakeholders, and experience supporting social implementation at ministries, agencies, and local governments. These will all be extremely useful for this program. In particular, we can expect program management cognizant of the balance between stakeholders in various fields, while accurately understanding the actual status of the rapidly-evolving social problems that are the focus of the program.R&D Projects
FY2023
(a) Problem-solving projects
| Trust formation via visualization: Literacy education in personalized digital infosphere TORIUMI Fujio (Professor, Department of Systems Innovation, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo ) |
2023.11-2027.3 |
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| Towards the development of "Trust" between news outlets and audiences FUJISHIRO Hiroyuki (Professor, Department of Media and Communication Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Hosei University) |
2023.11-2027.3 |
(b) Problem-identification projects
| Cognitive studies on trust formation mechanism toward local echo chamber steering MORITA Junya (Professor, Department of Behavior Informatics, Faculty of Informatics, Shizuoka University ) |
2023.11-2027.3 |
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| Mapping Entry Channels into Conspiracy Theory and Developing a Framework for Preventing People's Acceptance MURAYAMA Taichi (Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Environment and Information Sciences, Yokohama National University) |
2023.11-2027.3 |
