“Synthetic? Neuron!”

Project Leaders: Yu Morishita (The University of Tokyo, Institute of Industrial Science), Tim Corvin (IDE), Charlotte Furet (IDE)

Number of participants: up to 20

Duration: 3 days

The RCA x IIS Tokyo Design Lab works at the intersection of design and science through international collaborations. Recently, a team composed of RCA alumni and IIS students explored the topic of Synthetic Neurons and what this means for the future of BioIntelligence.

Using this as a starting point, participants in this AcrossRCA will be invited to further explore the potential of Synthetic Neurons and BioIntelligence – what role will these technologies take on in our everyday lives and what are the implications? These questions will be explored from a scientific, ethical, and design perspective.

Timetable:

Day 1 (31/10):

10:00 – 10:30: Opening remarks and overview of the workshop by Yu Morishita of the Institute of Industrial Science https://www.iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/

10:30 – 11:00: Introduction to Synthetic Neurons and Ikeuchi Lab research by Professor Yoshiho Ikeuchi of IIS  http://www.bmce.iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp/) & Members of Design Lab team

11:00 – 12:00: Ideation introduction & team forming

13:00 – 15:30: Ideation session I: What could you do with BioIntelligence?

15:30 – 16:00: Presentations & Discussion

Day 2 (01/11):

10:00 – 12:00: Ideation session II: BioIntelligence gone wrong?

13:00 – 15:30: Group work & tutorials

15:30 – 16:00: Presentations & Discussion

Day 3 (02/11):

10:00 – 12:00: Mapping out of Synthetic Neurons

13:00 – 14:30: Final Presentations

14:30 – 16:00: Concluding Talk Session with Professor Ikeuchi of IIS, Helene Steiner, Founder of Cell-Free Technology, Yukiko Matsunaga of IIS.

17:30: Introduction to the RCA-IIS Tokyo Design Lab