eSOM
The Road to D, or the Story of Singularity High School (SHS) and Cowa
2025.05.09
eSOM : The Road to D, or the Story of SHS and Cowa (12) What are the Necessary Abilities and Qualities to Master AI as Part of Your Own Brain?
1. (Continued from “eSOM: the Road to D (11)”) So, how will we undertake the “inquiry-based learning of the brain”? First, what is crucial is that I, as the principal, am already engaged in it. What SHS conducts is not “education” but “co-creation.” Co-creation means that both facilitators (including the principal) and students, as fellow “inquiry-based learners = vagabonds,” learn what is necessary for the construction of “D.” The difference between facilitators and students is that facilitators precede students in this learning, and based on their experience, facilitators facilitate students so that students can conduct their own inquiry-based learning. We do not teach (hence, SHS does not use the term “teacher”). Therefore, I, as the “facilitator of facilitators = principal,” am undertaking “inquiry-based learning of the brain” ahead of all the core facilitators. The fundamental basis of co-creation at SHS is Seymour Papert’s constructioniism (refer to “The Road to D (4)”). Constructionism is not like most on-going education in Japan, where one “acts (enters society) after acquiring sufficient knowledge,” but rather “first, one moves their hands and body to construct something, and then understands things based on that experience.” And for anything we do from now on, what we must first construct is our own body. More precisely, it is the construction of the brain, the “control tower” of the body. 2. Q: Coro, approximately how many human cells die and are newly born each day? A: The human body is made up of about 60 trillion cells, of which it is said that about 300 to 400 billion die each day. This is equivalent to about 200 grams in weight, or about the size of a steak. And to compensate for the dead cells, almost the same number of new cells are constantly being born within the body. This balance of cell death and regeneration maintains our bodies in a healthy state. However, the lifespan of cells varies greatly depending on the type. For example, the epithelial cells lining the surface of the small intestine have a very short lifespan of about 24 hours, while bone cells have a relatively long lifespan of about 10 years. Brain nerve cells are generally considered not to regenerate. As we age, the regenerative capacity of cells gradually declines, so the number of body cells decreases in old age, and the body tends to shrink. (the end of Coro’s answer) As Coro says, if 200 grams of cells are reborn every day, then a person weighing 60 kilograms would be completely reborn in 300 days. In other words, humans, whether they intend to or not, are constantly (re)constructing themselves every year or so as they live. (The time it takes for “body production” varies depending on various conditions such as body size and age.) So, what about the brain cells? Is it possible to reconstruct brain cells in the same way as other parts of the body? Q. Coro, how frequently are brain cells renewed? x.com/shinkoukouwa/s According to Coro, unfortunately, in the case of the brain, it seems that it cannot be reconstructed in the same way as other parts of the body. In terms of a soccer team, it’s like even if better players keep joining the team for positions other than the “attacking midfielder (playmaker),” the “attacking midfielder” remains the same player, and as they age, they lose their former brilliance. In soccer, if the attacking midfielder can no longer perform, they can switch to a different position, but the human body doesn’t work that way. Let’s switch the analogy to a racing car here. The reason is that, as some of you know, I myself love car racing. I was once scouted as a reporter for a sports journal due to my extensive knowledge of various sports, but now I am exclusively focused on car racing. The second reason is that racing cars and car racing are the optimal analogy (at least for me) when talking about the reconstruction of the brain and body. In the spring of 2027, an entertainment facility themed around cars, “Hiroshima Mobility World,” will open at the former Marina Hop site, so I would like to take this opportunity to introduce more SHS members to the wonders of motorsport: newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/-/187 (Note 1: I am also interested in motorcycle racing, but I have to watch multiple categories of car races held around the world, so I don’t have time for motorcycle racing.) (Note 2: By the way, the first motorsport event I ever watched was the 1993 Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race.) 3. Let’s return to the topic of “brain construction.” Basically, the brain cannot be reconstructed. However, regarding brain upgrades, means comparable to or even surpassing reconstruction have emerged. That is AI. Those who are already using it will understand, but the recent progress of AI is remarkable. Recently, AI has surpassed the passing score for the University of Tokyo’s Faculty of Medicine (arguably the most difficult entrance exam in the world): nikkei.com/article/DGKKZO Its ability to solve challenging mathematical proof problems also seems to be rapidly evolving: nikkei.com/article/DGXZQO If we can learn to use such AI as part of our own brain, we will acquire a brain that surpasses what we could gain by reconstructing our own. So, what does it mean to “become able to use AI as part of your own brain”? The answer is clear. It means being able to give AI “prompts (instructions)” that will let AI provide you with the answers you seek. Without prompts, AI is useless. In other words, if you cannot set your own “課題 (kadai – task/issue/problem)” – what you want to know – even the world’s greatest intellect will not function as your own brain. However, concerning setting up tasks, there is one big problem. Especially in Japan. I taught students from around the world, including Japanese students, at universities in North America. From that experience, I learned that people who have been educated in Japan from a young age are the least skilled in inquiry-based learning (a learning method where one sets their own tasks and explores them independently) compared to students from any other country. I explained this in detail in a blog I wrote when I was the principal of Shin-ai Gakuen Nozomi Kindergarten (now Nozomi Certified Children’s Center): note.com/koi_nozomi1979 As I wrote in the blog, what is now required in all aspects of society are “people who can engage in inquiry-based learning,” which has been hindered by traditional Japanese education. In other words, these people are the “vagabonds (= Takehiko Inoue’s Musashi) = inquiry-based learners” we talk about at SHS. And the abilities and qualities necessary to “become a vagabond” are exactly the same as the abilities and qualities necessary to “use AI as part of your own brain.” SHS members (students and facilitators) will become vagabonds together with AI as their buddy. In order to do so, one has to become able to set up tasks (in the sense of creating prompts) by oneself. But, how can one become able to do so? (To be continued)
