Program Theme
The main theme of this program is “causality,” which has since played important roles in the development of various fields of natural and social sciences and engineering. We set the Key Goal of this program as the “construction of common knowledge on causality” to survive in the era of big data, which will lead to an understanding of our complex world and of complex human intelligence.
In synchronous with the widening prosperity of data science using big data, causality concepts are in the limelight, because finding causality is unavoidable when considering the explainability and interpretability of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Modern AIs equipped with solid causality backgrounds must help a lot to alleviate general difficulties existing in the real world.
In 2022, Fujitsu Limited and Tohoku University established the Discovery Intelligence Laboratory to enhance causal inference research, both for application areas and for basic techniques and concepts. This laboratory’s ultimate objective is to support decision-making for real-world problems. The plan of this thematic program is based on and supported by the Discovery Intelligence Laboratory and Fujitsu Limited. This academia–industry collaboration is the central feature of the program.
Pre–Events
Pre–Event: Mathematics × Art: Experimental exhibition “Exploring the Feeling of Causality”
(July 25, 2024)
What is Causality: From the Perspective of Philosophy, Mathematics, and Physics II
(February 18, 2025)
Events
G–RIPS Sendai 2025 FUJITSU Project “Discoverability with modern AI”
(June 17, 2025 – August 7, 2025)
International Symposium on “Stochastic Processes and Complex Systems”
(August 25, 2025 – August 29, 2025)
Short Course for Students, Researchers and Engineers: Bayesian Networks and their Applications in Environmental Sciences
(October 24, 2025 – October 26, 2025)
Symposium: Approaching the World through the Lens of Causality
(February 18, 2026 – February 20, 2026)
Organizers
Hiroshi Suito
(Professor, Mathematical Science Center for Co–creative Society / Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Japan)
Hiroyuki Higuchi
(Senior research manager, Fujitsu Ltd., Japan)
Saku Hara
(Associate Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Letters, Tohoku University, Japan)
Takashi Kumagai
(Professor, School of Fundamental Science and Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Japan)
Timo Huttla
(CEO, TH Environmental Consulting, Finland)
Christian Ratsch
(Deputy Director, Institute for Pure & Applied Mathematics, University of California, Los Angeles, USA)
Key Contributors
Martin Hairer
(Professor, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Switzerland)
Hirokazu Anai
(Principal Research Director, Fujitsu Research / Visiting Professor, Kyushu University, Japan)
Stéphanie van der Pas
(Associate professor, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Co–hosted by
In cooperation with
