—Why did you choose to pursue platform studies?

There are two main reasons. First, the main subject of my research laboratory is the evolutionary ecology of insects, a field of basic research most distant from social implementation. I believed that by pursuing platform studies, I would gain a comprehensive view of the entire process of science, including the development and application of findings obtained through basic research. Furthermore, while ecology has established technologies that can handle large amounts of data, including genome information, the process of collecting living organisms and conducting behavioral experiments still relies heavily on the expertise of researchers, and I feel that ecology is being dominated by other fields that can obtain a large amount of data. I wished to learn methods for efficiently acquiring and processing such information.

—What research themes are you currently working on?

I am working on social insects. In insect societies, where they live in clusters based on altruistic interactions, there are cases where the interests of an individual conflict with the interests of the group. I am examining how natural selection acts on these conflicts and what the consequences are, both empirically and theoretically. While this research requires repeating a sort of low-tech process of breeding insects and observing their behavior and traits, as a Platform Studies student, I feel that the challenge is how to make this more efficient. Although there is a wide range of areas in which efficiency should be improved, I am currently working on the most basic of these areas: insect breeding and management. Specifically, I am developing a non-invasive method for estimating population size and constructing a monitoring system for insect breeding plants using this method. Since my affiliated research laboratory is currently engaged in a project to propagate termites to use as feed for poultry, combined with this project, I believe that this will not only improve the efficiency of our research but also lead to social implementation.

—What have you gained through the School of Platforms program?

What I gained the most was the importance of interacting with people from different fields. Although I had long been interested in ICT and thought that I understood and was familiar with the technologies in widespread use, it is impossible to create something new if the process is a one-way street, from technological development to implementation in the field. By learning about various use cases through the lectures and seminars, I became aware that two-way dialogue between the developers of information and communication technology and the users in the field is crucial in creating a platform. It is necessary to be aware of the demands of the field when developing technologies, and it is also essential to promote technological development from the field side in order to solve challenges.

—What is the platform to you (ideal situations, desirable future, etc.)?

I think platforms are a place to connect the general public and specialized fields, or between specialized fields, so that they can obtain the necessary information from each other without any barriers. I believe that the ability to disseminate and exchange information in both directions will connect places and fields that previously had no contact with one another.

—If the goal is to improve the world just a little from where it stands today, what do you think is needed, or what would you like to do?

As specialized technologies become increasingly fragmented, a situation has emerged where it is difficult to analyze data even if it is available. It would be nice to have a system that facilitates the division of labor and collaborative work. On the other hand, I sometimes feel uneasy about treating everything as "information." I entered academia by seeing and touching living creatures. In recent years, technologies have been developed to obtain various quantitative data on living organisms, but I wonder if such data captures the true charm of those living organisms. I would like to explore ways to better use information in a way rooted in reality rather than focusing solely on information space, which in a way is merely a virtual image. As the information space continues to grow in scale and convenience, it is imperative that we, as beings of reality, establish norms for how we use information and how to avoid being swallowed captive by it.