Qualia

Believing in Human Value, Unraveling the Science of Consciousness

A World Where People Can Cooperate with Goodwill

I’ve always been thinking about what it means to be human.

Today, in the world of AI, there are two opposing approaches. One is called transhumanism, an approach favoring the use of AI to further enhance humans. This approach aims to expand people’s perception of the world, enhance their sensory capacities, and enable them to cooperate with more people. The other is posthumanism. This is the idea of replacing humans with AI—for example, having humanoid robots work instead of humans, or having AI do everything humans have done till now, so that humans won’t need to do anything.

Of these two opposing approaches, I am leaning more toward transhumanism. That is, toward a world where humans have an expanded perception the world, understand deeper things, and cooperate with greater mutual goodwill. My interests lie in how we can create such a world. Looking back, I realize that since joining Sony CSL, I’ve always believed in human potential.

The brain does magnificent work

I research the brain and consciousness through the concept of “qualia.” Qualia are the textures within consciousness. The magnificent nature of the workings of the human brain symbolized by such a concept and its amazing computational ability are again attracting attention in comparisons to AI. In the current AI world, the amount of power consumed by GPUs and other devices is rising. There is concern that if we keep trying to evolve AI at this rate, it will require enormous amounts of energy that will place a burden on the global environment. However, right now, AI does not have qualia, which exist only in the human brain. That the human brain can perform such magnificent work with such a low level of energy consumption is astounding.

Ikigai

Ikigai, a key concept in my recent research, is similarly focused on human potential.
Ikigai is a Japanese philosophy of life that expresses the very essence of the joy and a true sense of living. Particularly in comparison to AI, ikigai is attracting attention in terms of how humans can maintain and enhance this sense of purpose. On the other hand, there are also concerns that our ikigai, or true sense of living, will be stripped away by AI. We call this the “ikigai risk,” which is also a major area of my research.

Human potential is not one-dimensional

When researching the brain, one way or the other the issue of personality comes into focus. I myself feel that everyone at Sony CSL thinks I’m a rather individualistic type of person, and I’m grateful that they have accepted a person like me. My research life keeps going thanks to my encounters with the truly one-of-a-kind unique people here. There is an incredibly important message here—that human potential is not one-dimensional. Each person possesses qualia in a different way, and ikigai is also completely different depending on the person.

In my case, when I’m asked a question about ikigai, I answer “It’s watching a butterfly fly.” When I was a kid, I was totally into insects and I studied butterflies, so even now, when I’m running and see them fluttering about, I feel a deep sense of ikigai. But that’s my ikigai; there are also people who look at a butterfly and don’t feel anything. Ikigai varies from person to person, and that’s what’s so wonderful about it.

Our strengths and weaknesses, our excesses and our moderation. To have these is to be human, and I believe a community that combines all of these is a magnificent thing.

Making positive global impacts

Sometimes I exchange views with our president Kitano-san on research for the sake of the future of humanity and our planet. Sony CSL places great importance on such values, and I have long expressed my desire to raise our overseas visibility and expand our activities there.

I am grateful that, with IKIGAI becoming a global bestseller, followed by the publications of The Way of Nagomi and my third book Think Like a Stoic, I’ve gradually become able to engage in activities that positively impact the world—a challenge I’ve had since joining Sony CSL.

In fact, especially in view of problems with the Earth’s environment, I don’t think we can be very optimistic about the future of humanity. And it goes without saying that my colleagues at Sony CSL are working on these problems. From the standpoint of science, I believe that our mission is to try to expand human potential as much as we can, but what is our unique contribution here? Although we work globally, we are based in Japan, and I think, after all, that our contribution lies in how we can use the language of science to expand and shape our uniquely Japanese values and worldview. In this regard, I also hope to be able to work to enhance Sony CSL’s value.

Resonating with each other

That being said, my ultimate life goal remains to unravel qualia, the science of consciousness. While this is quite complicated and incredibly difficult to unravel, nevertheless, unraveling it is my life’s work, so I am giving it my all.

I believe that focusing on qualia and believing in human value, embracing individuality without fail, and resonating with each other is vitally important, and will ultimately lead to peace and prosperity for humanity. If we can achieve this, then maybe our research institute Sony CSL can carve out its own small page in world history. This is what I keep in mind in my research activities.

*This article was put together based on an interview conducted at Sony CSL – Kyoto on December 19, 2025.
Kenichiro Mogi (Speaker)
Kei Fukuda (Interviewer)
Jonathan Katz（Translation）