Shunichi Kasahara

When humans integrate with computers, to what extent are we still ourselves? Computers are no longer just tools for humans, but are deeply intervening in our bodies and behavior. When humans integrate with computers and acquire abilities and different bodies beyond what we currently possess, how do we define our own humanity?
I am researching "Cybernetic Humanity," which is a new concept of humanity that emerges from the integration of humans and computers, through the intersection of computer science and human science. My research will focus on augmenting perception, cognition, and embodiment, elucidating the "self" through subjective experiences and understanding the dynamics of humanity that are woven by the integration of humans and computers.
The exploration of Cybernetic Humanity requires connecting and discussing the contradictory and complex nature of augmented physicality and inherited humanity. To tackle this, I adopt not only a reductive approach but also a circular experiential research process that involves creating and analyzing new "experiences" of the body and humanity as an open system.
I aim to bring about new science in human-computer integration and lead to co-evolutionary and co-creative relationships between humans and computers.

[Keywords]
Superception / Sefl / Perception / Human Computer Integration / Identitiy / Embodiment / Augmentation / Shared Experience

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Selected Publications

Shunichi Kasahara, Jun Nishida, and Pedro Lopes. 2019. Preemptive Action: Accelerating Human Reaction using Electrical Muscle Stimulation Without Compromising Agency, In CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Proceedings (CHI 2019), May 4-9, 2019, Glasgow, Scotland Uk. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 15 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3290605.3300873

Kasahara, Shunichi and Konno, Keina and Owaki, Richi and Nishi, Tsubasa and Takeshita, Akiko and Ito, Takayuki and Kasuga, Shoko and Ushiba, Junichi Malleable Embodiment: Changing Sense of Embodiment by Spatial-Temporal Deformation of Virtual Human Body Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems ISBN:978-1-4503-4655-9 DOI:10.1145/3025453.3025962 pages6438-6448 May 2017 ACM

Kasahara, Shunichi and Ando, Mitsuhito and Suganuma, Kiyoshi and Rekimoto, Jun Parallel Eyes: Exploring Human Capability and Behaviors with Paralleled First Person View Sharing Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems ISBN:978-1-4503-3362-7 DOI:10.1145/2858036.2858495 pages1561-1572 May 2016 ACM

Profile

Shunichi Kasahara, Ph.D., currently serves as a project leader and researcher at Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc. (Sony CSL), a position he has held since 2014. Concurrently, he is a visiting researcher at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) from 2023 for running Cybernetic Humanity Studio—a collaboration between Sony CSL and OIST. He received his Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Information Studies from the University of Tokyo in 2017. His professional career commenced at Sony Corporation in 2008, followed by an affiliate researcher at MIT Media Lab in 2012. At present, Kasahara is leading research on "Cybernetic Humanity," exploring the new humanity that is emerging from the integration of humans and computers. His significant contributions to the field have been presented at computer science conferences such as ACM CHI, UIST, SAP and SIGGRAPH, and published in various scientific journals. His work also extends to the development of interactive exhibitions and the implementation of social solutions.

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