Event Report Moonshot Shinbo Project: 2nd Privacy Study Group

The 2nd Privacy Research Group Meeting was held at Toyo University’s, Hakusan Campus on November 16th, 2024. Let me share some highlights with you. 
 

The meeting brought together speakers from different countries, creating a friendly atmosphere which encouraged open discussions. 

Professor Eric Heinze from the University of London talked about dealing with ‘extreme speech’. He suggested that instead of just banning or restricting harmful speech, we should focus more on encouraging positive responses and counter-arguments. This is particularly relevant when we think about freedom of expression in virtual worlds where people use avatars. 

Dr. Luke Munn from the University of Queensland discussed the limitations of current AI ethics guidelines. He pointed out that these guidelines are mostly based on Western values. Instead, he suggested that we should include different cultural perspectives, such as those of the Maori people, when creating rules for AI technology worldwide. 

We also had interesting presentations from Taiwan. Assistant Professor Lin Hsin-Hsuan from the National Cheng Kung University analysed legal issues related to facial recognition technology, while Associate Professor Kuo Jung-Chin from the Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, updated us on Taiwan’s latest AI regulations. 

Mr. Julien Sterck from the EU Court of Justice discussed recent AI-related court cases in Europe, emphasising the importance of keeping humans at the centre of AI development and regulation. 

During parallel sessions, Professor Masaya Onoue from Toyo University talked about legal responsibility for AI actions, which is important when considering the legal status of avatars. Mr. Kazuyasu Shiraishi from the TMI Law Firm led a discussion about AI-use in weapons systems, focusing on the related ethical and legal issues. 

Young researchers also had opportunities to present their work. Takeru Aizawa from Toyo University discussed how traditional legal frameworks might not fully address AI-specific problems. 

Throughout the meeting, researchers shared ideas about important questions such as: 

how can we protect privacy and human rights as AI and avatars become more common; 

how should laws adapt to new avatar technologies; 

how can we include different cultural perspectives when considering the ethical, legal, and social impacts of AI and avatars? 

These discussions helped to advance our goal of creating a society where people can safely and confidently use avatar technology.