Facial Recognition: AI and Jobs

One of the many fears about AI include its ability to slowly replace jobs. One such science fiction movie, iRobot, highlights these fears, for the main character hates robots partly due to their constant presence in doing jobs that humans would have done. But even more realistically, self-driving cars are becoming a recent boom in the robotics and AI world with proponents arguing that it could ultimately replace taxi drivers. And Japan is not shying away from using AI to address significant labor shortages that could help convenience stores continue to provide cheap and affordable services. Much like Amazon's cashierless stores, Amazon Go, Seven-Eleven in Japan is using facial recognition and identification cards to reduce employment necessities in the stores. In the growing technological era, having cheaper services that require only minimal human employees will streamline businesses immensely. Although the human element will almost always be necessary for anything automated, at least for the near future, AI can provide a great deal of solutions for menial tasks. If anything, it could provide a relief to many businesses and increase production in the future.

7/11 introduces cashier-less store

The Japanese retail sector is encountering growing problems due to the shrinking labor pool and the rising cost of part time work. One possible solution is the introduction of cashierless-- and potentially one day unstaffed-- stores. 7/11 is piloting this idea for the first time in December in one of the their Tokyo stores. This small convenience store is inside an office building, and not open to the general public. It will use facial recognition software to allow costumers into the store. Once inside, customers can scan items, and money will be deducted from their paycheck. 1,000 of these stores already exist in China, and Amazon is experimenting with a similar model in the United States.

Generally, I think this is a logical move for retail stores and a good solution to some of the unique economic challenges that Japan is facing. However, I have some concerns about the potential for surveillance, privacy, and data collection in these types of stores. I also wonder whether will be accessible to Japan's older generation. That being said, I have been repeatedly impressed by Japan's ability to incorporate technology in efficient, useful, and humanistic ways.

School Rules

This article discussed the education system in Japan and how certain schools in the country have overly stringent rules that lean to the disturbing or downright ridiculous. To name a few examples cited by the author: no foreign words to be used, no dialect usage, to applaud the teachers upon entrance.

The author emphasises how the severe enforcement of these rules can have drastic impacts on the education and well-being of the child. Several children have been playing truant and some have even been driven to suicide. There was even a case in Osaka where a high school student bought a law-suit to the school that made her die her naturally brown hair black.

Teachers have also been accused of being creepy and abusing the students under their care. There have been cases of sexual harassment where male teachers have checked the colours of students underwear and bras. In addition to this there are rules that force children to be cold in the winter by enforcing the wearing of skirts and the banning of scarfs or stockings.

Such conformity contributes to the lack of incentive to break out of the norm and challenge the status quo, arguably destroying the creative spark of Japanese children from an early age. The consequences are even worse for those that come from a minority group such as those from the LGBT community or those with foreign descent.

This article was interesting to me because I deeply resonated with the content since I too attended an extremely strict high school. Rules bordered on the ridiculous and it made us feel like we were in some sort of prison, waiting for the bell to ring and for us to be set free of the confines of the school. I do believe that rules are necessary in order for a school to function well, however, that does not mean that educators are at liberty to demand anything they deem fit. These rules ought to stem out of an actual necessity and not an old fashioned idea of discipline.

The Imperial Family's Cage

Wow, all the articles this week were fascinating and deserve a deep dive. I wish we could have an extra long session this week.

The article that I found most novel was about the controversy around Prince Akishino's statement criticizing the state pouring funds into the Shinto traditions that will be performed when the new Emperor ascends the throne. The Japanese constitution says that the Emperor must not be involved in politics, which leads to a debate about whether this rule applies to the whole Imperial family. Additionally, the statement draws attention to the division of religion and state in Japan.

I found this situation really interesting and kind of felt bad for the Imperial family. They are literally a vestigial institution that exists only because the people didn't want to abandon the royal family after the end of WWII. Today, there is probably almost no one who believes in re-empowering the Emperor, Meiji Restoration style. Thus fearing a politically active Imperial family member may lead to a restoration of Imperial power seems a bit far fetched. Additionally, this fear essentially strips Japanese citizens of a fundamental right in any well-functioning democracy, the ability to be a part of public discourse and the future of the nation. To me the obvious choice is, which I think applies to most vestigial royal families in Asia and Europe, is the abolish this strange porcelain cage that the descendants of former Kings and Queens are trapped in. Eliminate the Imperial houses and allow these people to live normal lives and become well-functioning members of the democracy. Of course they may have immediate public clout by being descendants of the Imperial family, but that will fade with time if you abolish the house. Keeping the Imperial family just kicks this unnecessary problem down the road.

On the issue of separation of church and state, I am an ardent supporter of this separation. However, in Japan I haven't met too many people who have deep religious beliefs, like in the United States. Instead things like a Shinto ritual seem more cultural than religious. So depending on how the people interpret these rituals I can see an argument where they are merely cultural and not religious. On the other hand, I can also see an argument where by treating Shinto rituals as cultural you are just entrenching Shintoism and making it a more powerful religion. We see this in the United States with "cultural" traditions, such as the President being sworn in while placing their hand on a bible. Only three Presidents in history have chosen not to take the oath with a religious text and the last one was in 1901. While not a rule, it is a cultural event that clearly entrenches Christianity in America's social fabric.

"Use no more than 30cm of toilet paper each time"

Japan has a long history of an extremely stringent education system where students are punished for the smallest infractions such as sneezing more than three times or for not applauding your teaching when he/she enters the room. In others classes, I learned that during fascist pre-war government, the school curriculum was designed so that boys could become unquestioning, obedient soldiers and women would become “good wives and wise mothers.” It seems that these harsh rules are still enacting even 70 years after the war. Last year, an Osaka high school student brought a lawsuit because her school prohibited her from dyeing her hair brown.

Throughout the article, the author makes brash and forceful comments against the Japanese education system, using evidence from a couple of books written about the subject. For me, it was very difficult to actually judge how bad the education system because there are seemingly contradictory statements. For instance, the author says that its “a minority of schools that account for the problematic issues” but also claiming the the entire country’s educational system is flawed.

The topic of conformity has always been on my mind since coming to Japan. I find it really interesting that Japanese people won’t cross a one lane street if the light is red but no cars are nearby. We see evidence of the sacrifice of individual freedom through discipline in exchange for the collective good in all aspects of the Japanese society. For example, company employees work unpaid overtime and commit themselves to their company, even though it causes psychological stress and personal pain. I can’t help but think that the education system is the main reason for this type of behavior because it’s one of the most important formative times of a person's development. How can we do find the right balance of individual liberty and collective good?