Hello.
My name is Kotaro Yonemaru, and I am an intern at the Institute for International Strategy and Information Analysis, Inc. (IISIA).
On June 9 of this year, Takeo Harada, Founder and CEO of IISIA, delivered a research presentation at the 2026 Annual Conference of the Japanese Society for Artificial Intelligence (JSAI2026), held in Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture.
When the opportunity to attend this conference was also opened to interns, I immediately raised my hand and was fortunate enough to take part in this valuable occasion.

In this article, I would like to reflect on the frontline of AI governance, drawing on what I learned at JSAI2026.
Beginning with this article, we will also be launching a three-part series titled “Intern Perspectives on AI and Social Contribution Initiatives,” written from the viewpoint of IISIA interns. We hope you will look forward to the next installment as well.

In recent years, there is hardly a day when we do not hear the term “generative AI.”
It is no longer limited to creating text or images. It is now being used to organize data, summarize meeting minutes, and support many other everyday tasks.
Technologies that were once handled only by specialists are now gradually entering our daily lives.
At the same time, many people may be asking themselves:
“I know that I need to use AI. But where should I begin? And how much should I entrust to AI?”
I was certainly one of those people.

Against this backdrop, the Annual Conference of the Japanese Society for Artificial Intelligence, which I attended, is one of Japan’s leading academic conferences where researchers, practitioners, and students present and discuss the latest research findings and social applications of artificial intelligence.
At this year’s conference, discussions were not limited to improvements in AI performance or new technological methods. Major questions were also raised, such as how AI should be positioned within human society, and how humans and AI can collaborate and coexist.

What left the strongest impression on me was the realization that it is no longer sufficient to view AI merely as a convenient tool.
Until now, AI has often been discussed as a tool for improving efficiency and reducing labor. Of course, that remains extremely important. In Japan, where labor shortages are becoming increasingly serious, AI-based support for business operations is an unavoidable issue.

However, what I sensed at the conference was a question that leads directly to the essence of AI governance.
The purpose is not simply to introduce AI.
Rather, the key question is: what kinds of decisions will we make by using AI?
And who will be responsible for those decisions?

At first glance, the answers produced by AI may appear objective and correct. However, AI simply generates outputs based on the data it has been given and the systems according to which it has been designed.
Which data should be used, and for what purpose?
How much should be entrusted to AI, and from what point should humans make the final judgment?
Ultimately, it is we human beings who must decide these things.

That is why I learned that what is needed in the AI era is not merely the ability to operate AI tools. Rather, it is the ability to interpret AI-generated answers and consider how they should be applied to decision-making in society and organizations.
In other words, the AI literacy required from now on is not simply a matter of “knowing how to use AI.”
It is the ability to make judgments together with AI.

This point deeply overlaps with the concept of “AI-enabled governance,” which IISIA is working to realize.
AI-enabled governance does not mean using AI merely as a tool for efficiency. Rather, it refers to the idea of reconstructing governance capacity, decision-making capacity, and social design capacity itself through the use of AI.

At the same conference, IISIA CEO Takeo Harada delivered a research presentation on a support system using large language models (LLMs) to analyze public discourse on YouTube and assist in the preparation of external response guidelines.
This research addresses how public institutions and organizations should understand and respond to the voices of society in an era when public opinion is increasingly shaped through social media and video platforms.
Here again, I felt that the essential point is not that AI should decide everything on behalf of humans.
Rather, AI can help organize vast amounts of information, analyze trends in public discourse, and present possible response options, thereby creating an environment in which humans can make better judgments.

AI is not a force that takes responsibility away from human beings.
Instead, it can serve as a guiding framework that enables humans to fulfill their responsibilities at a higher level.

From this perspective, AI governance is by no means an issue limited to governments or large corporations.
The same questions arise in corporate management, local communities, education, and individual learning.
How should we use AI? What should we entrust to AI? And, in the end, what should humans decide?
It will become increasingly difficult to avoid these questions in the years ahead.

In particular, I felt that AI is not simply a new technology for younger generations. It is also highly relevant to those generations that have long been responsible for decision-making in organizations, families, and local communities.
This is because the question of how to connect past experience and judgment with the AI era is not a problem for young people alone. It is a question for all of us as human beings.
The future will not be created only by young people who are familiar with AI.
Only when generations with experience understand AI and connect it with their own capacity for judgment can society as a whole move forward in its use of AI.

In this sense, the Kusunoki Project, which IISIA is advancing as a social contribution initiative, is far more than a simple digital skills program.
Engaging with themes such as Python, RAG, AI literacy, and the construction of automated cryptocurrency trading systems is not merely about learning new technologies.
It is also about cultivating the ability to think, judge, and act independently in the AI era.
As an intern involved in this project, I have been given the opportunity to reflect once again on what it truly means to learn AI.

AI is not a technology of the distant future.
Nor is it something that only a small number of specialists can handle.
It is already beginning to enter our work, our learning, our participation in society, and the very way we make decisions.
That is why what matters most is neither fearing AI nor entrusting everything to AI.
It is to think together with AI.
It is to use AI while enabling humans to make better judgments.
And it is to connect those judgments to the future of society.
Through my participation in the Annual Conference of the Japanese Society for Artificial Intelligence, I came to feel this very strongly.

In this series, we will continue to share, from the perspective of IISIA interns, the challenges and possibilities that can be seen on the ground where AI and social contribution initiatives intersect.

In the second installment, under the theme “AI-enabled Governance as Seen by an Intern,” I will consider growth strategies, social design in the AI era, and the actions required of each of us.

In the age of AI, what should we learn?
What should we judge?
And how should we act?
I hope to continue exploring these questions together with our readers.

If you found this article interesting, it would be a great encouragement to our internship activities.
We would be grateful if you could share it through social media and other channels.

Finally, applications are now open for Kusunoki Project – Phase I and Kusunoki Project – Phase II, Second Term.

Will we face the AI era with anxiety, or will we step forward as those who help create the future?

As a first step, we sincerely hope that many people will take this opportunity to participate.

■ Kusunoki Project – Phase I
Basic Python programming course led by IISIA student interns
Apply here:
URL: https://form.run/@bdg-ue4WeHBmMtMJjbg4fC7N

■ Kusunoki Project – Phase II, Second Term
Building an automated cryptocurrency trading system incorporating AI algorithms
Apply here:
URL: https://form.run/@bdg-kO0jFR6y2Z4Bi3PpNXUS

For further details, please visit:
URL: https://haradatakeo.com/news/513704/

The views expressed in this article are the personal reflections of the author and do not represent the official views of IISIA.

Kotaro Yonemaru
Intern, Institute for International Strategy and Information Analysis, Inc.