On the afternoon of 18th December, the 16th lecture of Nitto themed series by Center for Japanese studies, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (“the Center”) was successfully held at Xuhui Campus of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). The lecture was hosted by the Center, co-organised by KoGuan School of Law, SJTU and China Institute for Socio-Legal Studies, and supported by Nitto Denko (China) Investment Co., Ltd. Huang Xiangqing, Deputy Director of the Social and Legal Affairs Committee of Shanghai Municipal Political Consultative Conference and Distinguished Professor of Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, and Lu Baoliang, Professor of Department of Computer Science and Engineering , Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Guangci Professor of Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine , and IEEE Fellow, delivered the keynote speech. Luo Zhiwei, Associate Librarian of Kobe University Library, Librarian of Natural Science Library and Professor of Graduate School of System Informatics, Kobe University and Chang Qing, Researcher of Institute of Digestive Surgery and Director of Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and Director of Ruijin Innovation Center participated in the talk. Cheng Jinhua, University Librarian, SJTU Library, Vice President of China Institute for Socio-Legal Studies, and Distinguished Professor of KoGuan School of Law, presided over the lecture. Ji Weidong, University Professor of Humanity and Social Sciences and Director of the Center, and Wang Jian, Director of Business Planning Department of Nitto Denko (China) Investment Co., Ltd., attended the lecture and delivered a speech. Cai Yuping, Deputy Director of the Centre and a number of researchers attended the meeting. More than 150  experts, scholars, entrepreneurs and practitioners in fields such as artificial intelligence, medicine, law and other related fields, , as well as teachers and students of SJTU participated in the lecture in the form of offline main venue, sub-venue or online live broadcast.

Cheng Jinhua presided over this lecture. He mentioned that the Nitto Lecture had been held since 2018 and had become an important platform for academic cooperation and exchange between China and Japan. Over the past five years, the Nitto Lecture has invited many distinguished experts and scholars from Chinese and Japanese politics, academia, and industry to engage in profound reflection and dialogue on cutting-edge issues between China and Japan, and has gradually developed into a key link for promoting academic interaction and cooperation between China and Japan, and an important platform for academic exchanges between China and Japan. The theme of this lecture was ‘The Frontiers of Law and Society in the Age of Artificial Intelligence’, and renowned scholars from across disciplines were invited to give presentations on the impact of artificial intelligence on law and society. He expressed his warm welcome and heartfelt thanks to the guests.

Wang Jian delivered the opening speech. He expressed his sincere greetings and thanks to the attending guests. He mentioned that Judge Huang Xiangqing and Professor Lu Baoliang were invited to give a wonderful speech on the application of modern information technology in judicial and the research of emotional brain-computer interface respectively. He said that information technology not only improved judicial efficiency and resource allocation, but also brought about issues such as data privacy and technological ethics, and he looked forward to Professor Luo Zhiwei from Kobe University and Director Chang Qing from Ruijin Hospital providing important ideas for the integration of information technology and justice as well as the development of emotional intelligence.

Huang Xiangqing gave a keynote speech on ”The Application of Modern Information Technology in the Judicial Field”. He first focused on the current situation and problems of the application of modern information technology in the judicial field, pointing out that modern information technology had been widely used in the judicial field and had achieved remarkable results. However, there were currently three problems: first, the supply of technology was often proactive, while professional demand was relatively passive, which made it difficult for technicians to systematically and deeply understand legal needs. Second, the advantages of technology were commonly amplified and the advantages of people were easy to be overlooked, and the complementary qualities of the two advantages needed to be highlighted; Third, the  local functional advantages formed by technology and the overall coordination of the entire litigation process needed to be improved. He further explored the application path of information technology in judicial process and substantive law, stressing that a deep understanding of the underlying logic of legal rules was the key to the deep application of information technology. For example, the inherent requirements of the principle of direct verbal communication in procedural law could be better reflected through high-definition, large-screen and sufficient bandwidth video technology, as well as setting adequate defence process tips in more complex cases. In substantive law, a full study of typical and atypical constituent elements and their variations could help improve the quality of judgements. At the same time, the judicial application of information technology needed to address the protection of data privacy and ethical issues and avoid the negative impacts brought by technological applications. Finally, he concluded that judicial applications should use mature information technology, and pending cases should not be used as experimental subjects to improve the level of technology; a team of legal and technical experts should be set up to make breakthroughs, design products and application scenarios according to the standards of the expert system, and follow a path from procedure to entity, from simple to complex, in order to achieve steady development and innovative breakthroughs in judicial work.

Lu Baoliang delivered a keynote speech on “Affective Brain-Computer Interface: Decoding Human Emotions and Decision-making Confidence”, focusing on the development and application of Affective Brain-Computer Interface. He introduced the mechanism by which Affective Brain-Computer Interface decoded and regulated human emotions, accurately identified emotional states using EEG and eye movement signals, and then regulated the emotions. In addition, he also discussed the application of EEG signals in decision-making confidence assessment. Research has shown that EEG signals could reflect the strength of confidence during decision-making and thus predict the decision-making duration. Lu Baoliang said that affective brain-computer interface technology was expected to become an important tool for objective assessment of mental illnesses such as depression. It could provide scientific basis for the diagnosis and treatment of depression through the collection of EEG and eye movement data. Looking to the future, affective brain-computer interface technology would provide new possibilities for personalized treatment and emotional interactive robots, driving AI towards a more human emotional direction.

Luo Zhiwei, Associate Librarian of Kobe University Library, Librarian of Natural Science Library and Professor of Graduate School of System Informatics, Kobe University and Chang Qing, Researcher of Institute of Digestive Surgery and Director of Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and Director of Ruijin Innovation Center, conducted discussions in combination with their respective professional fields.

Luo Zhiwei shared his unique insights on the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its social impacts in the context of the theme of ‘Innovating Intelligent Science and Technology for the Future Society’. Starting from “Biological Intelligence” (BI), he explained the evolution process of AI, and proposed that AI research had gradually evolved from the initial imitation of biological intelligence to “Computer Intelligence” (CI) and today's “Digital Intelligence” (DI) based on big data and big models. He pointed out that the understanding of today's AI should not only be limited to the application tools of data and algorithm, but also highly alert to the illusions, misunderstandings (FI), and even the potential tendencies of ”digital empires” and the Empire Intelligence (EI), and predicted that future general artificial intelligence (GI) would break through the limitations of existing passive learning models. Taking into account the results of this year's Nobel Prize, he analyzed the breakthrough progress of AI in physics, chemistry and biology, and suggested that scientific and technological research, based on the pursuit of principles, would evolve into irrational research that challenges complexity and uncertainty. In particular, he explained the current status and problems of applications in protein structure research. He emphasized that intelligent science was replacing traditional physical and chemical calculation methods, demonstrating great potential in future exploration of natural sciences. The correct application of AI can be a blessing for mankind, but at the same time, Luo Zhiwei said that we should closely monitor and prevent the “ghost effect” that AI may encounter between the virtual and real worlds from a legal perspective. Finally, he looked forward to the challenges of AI in the future, such as group learning and emotional computing, human-machine intelligence resonance and harmony, and called for the intelligent development of science and technology to take into account the structural problems of the future health of human society, ensuring the healthy development of artificial intelligence.

In his talk at the Nitto Lecture, Chang Qing focused on the current status of the application of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the medical field and the accompanying legal and ethical challenges. He pointed out that the development of intelligent monitoring and warning systems, intelligent screening and diagnostic technologies has significantly improved the quality and efficiency of medical services, achieving advances such as continuous monitoring of patient physiological parameters, early disease warning, personalized health management, and remote medical support. However, with the application of these technologies, data privacy and security have become key issues, and it is critical to handle data containing sensitive personal information appropriately to prevent privacy breaches. At the same time, the determination of legal responsibility has become more complex, and it is necessary to clarify the responsibilities of all involved parties, ensure accurate traceability of responsibility in the event of a medical incident, and protect patients' rights and interests. In the face of these issues, Chang Qing emphasized the importance of cultivating interdisciplinary ethical literacy talents to cope with ethical issues that may arise in AI applications, and suggested improving the current legal system to address the new challenges. Specific measures included legislating to clarify the responsible parties, setting up a science and technology ethics committee, developing AI design standards and strengthening  AI application supervision, so as to promote the sustainable development of intelligent healthcare. He also called for strengthening international cooperation and jointly establishing international ethical standards to ensure the healthy development of AI technology worldwide.

In the open question and answer session, the participants asked questions from the perspectives of EEG and eye movement signals for emotional judgment, as well as the impact of the development of AI on the human life and health. The moderator and the round-table discussion guests answered and responded to each question one by one, conducting in-depth communication and discussion. The atmosphere on site was lively and warm.

Ji Weidong summarized the lecture. He said that the lecture was an academic feast, and the speeches of Professor Huang Xiangqing and Professor Lu Baoliang deeply inspired the participants. He pointed out that the lecture spanned the fields of law and AI, exploring the coexistence of humans and machines, especially the challenges in legal interpretation and emotional computing, and demonstrating the prospects of AI application in the judicial field. He also highlighted that there were still many challenges in the application of AI in the legal field, and how to balance the advantages of data and model innovation remained an important issue for the future. He thanked all the attending guests and looked forward to continuing to promote the in-depth cooperation between law and science and technology in the future, providing more innovative ideas for academic development. Finally, he expressed his heartfelt thanks to Nitto Denko for its long-term support to the Center, as well as the wonderful sharing of the keynote speakers and discussion guests, and the active questioning and participation of the participants.

At the end of the lecture, Wang Jian and Cai Yuping, on behalf of Nitto Denko (China) Investment Co., Ltd. and the Center, presented certificates of appreciation to the keynote speakers and discussion guests, thanking them for their wonderful sharing and great support for the Nitto themed lecture by the Center. The lecture ended in a pleasant atmosphere.