iU President Gachon . Mr.Joi Ito

■iU President Gachon . Mr.Joi Ito

1.0, 2.0, 3.0. Joi has been creating the digital world. He has returned to Japan after completing the incredible task of being the director of the MIT Media Lab. He will continue to do incredible work, using his experience as the director of the Chiba Institute of Technology and the Digital Agency as a foothold. He is younger than me, hails from Kyoto, got his PhD at Keio University SFC, and is on the path of a junior at the MIT Media Lab, yet he always shines high and far ahead of me. He's amazing.

What we are focusing on now

I am currently studying and networking around Web 3.0. It's moving so fast that I have to get serious and run to keep up. While concentrating on Web 3.0, I am also the chief architect of the Chiba Institute of Technology Transformation Center, Digital Garage, and the launch of a Web 3.0 fund, and I am also doing some government work (in June 2022). A book on Web 3.0 will be released. I also broadcast podcasts and programs on BS TV Tokyo.

◆ The World of Web 3.0

Web 1.0 is Read. You can view what's on the server.

Web 2.0 is the Cloud. You can write on the cloud. Social media and other things have come about.

Web 3.0 is about joining. There are many tools for people to coordinate, such as cryptocurrency, NFT, and DAO. There is a system for creating organizations that include new economics. Participating in various projects in a new way is a major shift in Web 3.0.

What to do

I learned by playing around with it and feeling it. This is the third time. I thought the first time would be a revolution, but it fell a little short. I thought the second time would also be a decentralized revolution, but it ended up being concentrated. I don't know if the third time is a charm, or if the same thing happens three times, but I want to bring society in a positive direction.

It is important to get involved and improve rather than looking down on others from the sidelines. Learn by participating.

◆The existence of schools

Statistically speaking, I think it's beneficial for most people to graduate from university. However, I couldn't do it. I ran away every day from kindergarten. I dropped out of university twice, and once for a doctorate, and I almost gave up. From there, I became the director of MIT. And then a professor. After that, I got my Ph.D. from Professor Jun Murai at Keio . It was the opposite.

If it wasn't MIT, they wouldn't have appointed someone without a degree as a director. Negroponte told Jun Murai, "If we get a degree, we lose the cool factor of being a director without a degree," but after 8 or 9 years, it's no longer cool. Rather, it feels like they've never touched the products that students are making, and there was a little bit of a feeling that they couldn't act high and mighty unless they got a degree for the sake of the students. MIT is a research institute and a graduate school. One of the features of the Media Lab is that it is possible to create doctorates and professors in departments none of the above (other academic fields).

Future education

Age of abundance. Education like a vending machine for knowledge is meaningless. Mixing industry, academia, and government. A place necessary for collaboration. Human connections. It's not just about degrees. There are universities that are like paper writing machines, but that's not enough. In MIT terms, if you learn by making things, people from different industries can collaborate together. It's also important to have manufacturing at the center.

◆Message for you guys

I really like the word "neurodiversity." Brain diversity. Everyone is different. I want to understand my own characteristics as soon as possible.

Until now, education has focused on a mass-production society where students do exactly what they are told and follow orders.

But now I always question orders, think for myself, and work hard with intrinsic motivation. If I don't find that motivation soon, I'll lose my energy as I get older.

To switch from an imperative style to an inherently synchronous style, you need to "play." The best pattern is to play around and make it infinite power that can be used at any time.