The social and cultural causes behind the widespread use and acceptance of robots in Japan are not yet completely understood. This study compares humans and robots in images gathered through Google ...searches in Japanese and in English. Numerous pictures obtained by the search in Japanese were found to have a human and a robot looking together at something else (“third item”), whereas many of the images acquired by search in English show a human and a robot facing each other. This is similar to the composition of mother and child in paintings: in
ukiyo-e
that was painted mainly in the Edo period of Japan, the mother and child are often depicted together viewing something other than themselves, whereas this is not the case in Western paintings of mother and child. It has also been pointed out that, in modern Western paintings, the world inside the picture is separated from the outside world, forming an independent microcosmos, whereas the inside and outside are continuous in Japanese paintings. These may indicate that, in Japanese society, robots are to a certain extent regarded as fellow human beings who can share the third item. In Western society, on the other hand, no code is embedded that can fix robots’ superiority or inferiority to humans, which would easily trigger an antagonistic view toward artificial intelligence (AI)/robots as threatening entities, as shown in most of Western literature and movies. We suggest that such cultural characteristics of Japanese society can contribute to enhance coexistence with AI/robots.
This study was designed to investigate methods of promoting water conservation through feedback about the level of water consumption in the long term. Most previous studies have been conducted in ...areas where water resources are under stress, whereas as this study was conducted in the Tokyo commuting area, where there is little worry about a water shortage. Three types of feedback about the level of water consumption in their community were provided to water users. These included actual mean consumption, consumption rank, and emoticons with written information. Feedback was sent once every two weeks during a 24-week period. Two hundreds and forty-six participants were randomly sampled from survey monitors in the Tokyo commuting area. The results indicated that effective feedback information differed for high and low water consumers. Water use in high consumers decreased when they received emoticons, whereas that in low consumers decreased when they saw that their use had decreased. Consumption in low water users did not increase even when they were notified that their consumption was relatively small. In addition, information about mean water consumption is only effective under conditions of water scarcity. In the future, the amount of regional water resources should be considered in selecting the survey area.
•Study was conducted in the Tokyo commuting area, where there is little worry about a water shortage.•Three types of feedback about the level of water consumption in their community were provided to water users.•Feedback included actual and mean consumption, consumption rank, and emoticons with written information.•Water use in high consumers decreased when they received feedback using emoticons.•Water use in low consumers decreased when they saw that their use had decreased by feedback on ranking.
Increasingly, national governments across the globe are prioritizing investments in neuroscience. Currently, seven active or in-development national-level brain research initiatives exist, spanning ...four continents. Engaging with the underlying values and ethical concerns that drive brain research across cultural and continental divides is critical to future research. Culture influences what kinds of science are supported and where science can be conducted through ethical frameworks and evaluations of risk. Neuroscientists and philosophers alike have found themselves together encountering perennial questions; these questions are engaged by the field of neuroethics, related to understanding of the nature of the self and identity, the existence and meaning of free will, defining the role of reason in human behavior, and more. With this Perspective article, we aim to prioritize and advance to the foreground a list of neuroethics questions for neuroscientists operating in the context of these international brain initiatives.
Neuroscience is a national priority across the globe necessitating engagement with the underlying cultural and ethical values that drive brain research. We offer a list of neuroethics questions for neuroscientists to advance and accelerate an ethically tenable globalized neuroscience.
We trained Japanese macaque monkeys to use tools, an advanced cognitive function monkeys do not exhibit in the wild, and then examined their brains for signs of modification. Following tool-use ...training, we observed neurophysiological, molecular genetic and morphological changes within the monkey brain. Despite being 'artificially' induced, these novel behaviours and neural connectivity patterns reveal overlap with those of humans. Thus, they may provide us with a novel experimental platform for studying the mechanisms of human intelligence, for revealing the evolutionary path that created these mechanisms from the 'raw material' of the non-human primate brain, and for deepening our understanding of what cognitive abilities are and of those that are not uniquely human. On these bases, we propose a theory of 'intentional niche construction' as an extension of natural selection in order to reveal the evolutionary mechanisms that forged the uniquely intelligent human brain.
Why people still rely on misinformation after clear corrections is a major concern driving relevant research. Different fields, from psychology to marketing, have been seeking answers. Yet there ...remains no systematic review to integrate these theoretical and empirical insights. To fill the gap, this article reviewed 135 articles on misinformation correction and its effects written before 2020 to examine the knowledge generated in the field. Our findings indicate a consistent interest on this topic over the past four decades, and a sharp increase of relevant scholarly work in the last ten years. Nevertheless, most studies have been built upon psychological inquiries and quantitative methodologies. What is lacking includes longitudinal measurements of debunking effectiveness, theoretical insights beyond cognitive sciences, methodological contributions from qualitative approaches, and empirical evidence from non-western societies. With this analysis, we propose worthwhile focuses for future exploration.
Cross-cultural studies of neuroethics that focus on Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan tend to dwell on three areas of “cultural” concern: local variations, the gap between the scientific community and ...the public, and the different approaches to ethical issues taken by different disciplines. According to a survey, Western and Taiwanese views on the relationship between the “soul” and the “mind” may have little in common. In South Korea, scientific research on bilingualism, covered by reports in the mass media, contributed to popular misconceptions about the early acquisition of foreign languages. Meanwhile, Japanese engineers and medical doctors involved in interdisciplinary research projects have run into trouble in the course of framing ethical guidelines for the treatment of human subjects. Every nation in East Asia has begun developing neuroethics projects, and the discipline has grown rather satisfactorily. However, the experiences of the different areas may differ much more than expected.
As robots become more and more ubiquitous in human society, the study of their emergence becomes critical to assessing robot performance and appropriateness for different applications, and for ...employment across countries with different cultural backgrounds. Throughout history, religion has been a major element in all human cultures, and there is a long history of religious commentary on the idea of automation. With emerging robotic platforms and applications already beginning to touch on the subject of religion, now is the right time to begin discussing this potentially controversial topic. The objective of this article is to analyze what impacts Taoist religion may have on the use of Ethically Aligned Design in future human–robot interaction.
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