Our Members

Yuko Itatsu is Professor in the Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies, the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, University of Tokyo, and serves as a Director for the B’AI Global Forum. She is a social and cultural historian specializing in quotidian practices of media, leisure and power. She is particularly interested in inclusivity of social minorities and media representation of gender, race and ethnicity. She is also interested in the application of artificial intelligence in leisure activities for social inclusivity as well as the possibility of marginalizing populations. She studied at the University of Southern California as a Fulbright Scholar and received her Ph.D. in History. She joined the Women in AI Asia Pacific Chapter Advisory Board in 2022.

For further information：https://researchmap.jp/itatsu?lang=en,  https://itatsulab.jp/

M.A.S. Student in the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, Information Technology and Society in Asia Program (ITASIA)

Alyssa is a Master’s student at the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies. She is from the Philippines, and lived in Vietnam for 7 years. She graduated from University of Tokyo’s PEAK Japan in East Asia Program in 2022. Her undergraduate thesis was titled “Queering Spatial Awareness in Post-pandemic Tokyo: Micro-level Counter-narratives in Shinjuku Ni-chome.” Her latest research interests are on queer(ing) AI, human orientations, and spaces, while asking how they can be used to disrupt oppressive systems. As the current editor-in-chief for UTokyo's English-language student magazine, she is also interested in writing, especially speculative fiction.

M.A.S. Student in the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, Information Technology and Society in Asia Program (ITASIA)

Will is currently pursuing his Masters in Interdiciplinary Information Studies at the University of Tokyo. His research focuses on the interersection between food studies and STS with a special focus on Japan. Before coming to the University of Tokyo, Will studied chemistry and Asian studies at Cornell University and worked as a food scientist in Los Angeles. In his free time, Will likes eating, camping, and exploring onsen in the Kanto region. 

Ph.D. Student in the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, Information Technology and Society Program in Asia Program (ITASIA)

Priya is a doctoral student at the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Information Studies, University of Tokyo. Trained as an architect, she is interested in exploring aspects of architecture from a social science and information studies perspective. She is currently researching how technology influences cognition and the process of spatial thinking among architects. In the past, she has worked on design-building human-centric pavilions and on exploring the human-environment relationship through projects that studied the lived experiences of migrant women in public places, choice behavior of cyclists, homelessness, ethnic enclaves, etc.

Priya is currently on haitus from the Perceptions project due to her focus on her doctoral research. 

M.Sc. Student at the University of Edinburgh, Department of Philosophy

Eva is a former graduate research member at the University of Tokyo and collaborates with the B'AI Global Forum where she actively engages in the discourse surrounding AI's societal impacts. She has a background in Comparative Literature and Anthropology, and her research interests lie in the intersections between AI Ethics and environmental humanities. She hopes to dedicate her future career to academia and is currently working on the convergence of AI and Animal Ethics, aligning with her goal to pursue a Ph.D. in the field.