IFTF Foresight Talks: Foresight and Design at Hitachi: Reaching Alignment on Technology’s Role in Our Lives

“Hitachi” means “rising sun” and, for more than 110 years, the Hitachi company has risen from a Japanese mining subsidiary into a multinational technology company involved in energy, mobility, manufacturing, IT, healthcare, and more.

Please join us on Thursday, December 7 at 9:00 a.m. PST when Ryoko Imai, principal research scientist at Hitachi America, discusses how she uses foresight as an invaluable tool to bring alignment, collaboration, and creativity to her work. She’ll explain how she’s learned from and redesigned Hitachi’s Kizashi method (Hitachi’s original forecasting approach) and how she combines design with foresight; she’ll also discuss the experience of teaching foresight to her colleagues, including the vulnerability and emotional challenge required when talking about the future.

Come learn about Ryoko’s active journey to find the right role for foresight within her organization and her current research into the future of sustainability and ethical AI.

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Speaker bio:

Ryoko Imai is Principal Scientist in Design Lab, Hitachi America. She’s a social scientist with interdisciplinary expertise in cognitive psychology and cultural anthropology, and she researches the intersection of technology and society for Hitachi’s various industries. She specializes in organizational culture, ethical and inclusive AI, sustainability, and futures-thinking.