Center for Interdisciplinary Informatics

Our purpose

The question of whether light is a particle or a wave was heavily debated by the giants of physics (Einstein, Born, Bohr, and others) in the early 20th centuries. Photons exhibit properties of particles or waves depending on the circumstances – a phenomenon known as “wave-particle duality.” These seemingly contradictory observations were later combined in a new physics called quantum mechanics. This breakthrough is the basis for the design of today’s quantum computers, the development of which is the focus of vigorous competition among nations. The consensus has arisen that, once fully developed, quantum computers will be able to quickly defeat the security enabled by current encryption methods, making them obsolete and necessitating the adoption of new technologies.

“Information” is key to almost everything in the modern world. Then, is information tangible or intangible? This question can be interpreted in multiple ways. According to information theory, information can be quantified (in bits, bytes, gigabytes, etc.) and its magnitude can be objectively discussed. On the other hand, positive or negative information about people and events can spread nearly instantaneously around the world (including “fake news”), but its magnitude or importance often lacks objective standards for evaluation. With the rise of generative AI tools, such information can easily be produced and measured (in the information theoretic sense), but its impact remains largely intangible, with the underlying characteristic that things that we talk about and care about in our lives are “social facts.” In this light, we might say that information provided by a generative AI is both tangible and intangible.

Our center, the Center for Interdisciplinary Informatics, focuses on this “information duality.” Our goal is to provide a place where natural scientists who study objective reality and social scientists and humanities scholars who study social reality can meet, mutually stimulate each other’s imaginations, and engage in active exchange of ideas. The Center’s mission is to promote advanced and original joint research by a diverse range of scholars; hold workshops on how society is affected by and responds to the rapid development of AI and information technology; actively disseminate the results of Meiji Gakuin University’s research; and promote international collaboration and exchange with overseas researchers. As an oasis for motivated scholars, we aim to fulfill our mission and thereby create a new wave from Meiji Gakuin University.