The Search for Technology that Draws Out “Unconscious Capabilities”-AIST’s Challenge

At “Brain World 2024 for Everyone: Super Diversity,” visitors can come into contact with cutting-edge research results from various companies, universities, and research institutes that are working to realize a neuro-diverse society. The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) is researching a phenomenon in which a normally normal movement becomes impossible when a person becomes tense or overly conscious of the movement. If we can use technology to support the phenomenon of consciousness interfering with normal movement, we may be able to “draw out the abilities of the unconscious. Nanako Ishido (photo 3), director of B Lab, which promotes the “Brain World for Everyone” exhibition, spoke with Akihiko Murai (photo 1) of AIST about the contents of the exhibition and the latest research findings.

Experience to bring out “unconscious abilities” while feeling conscious and unconscious.

Ishido: “Please tell us about your exhibit at “Brain World for Everyone” and your commitment to neurodiversity.”

Mr. Murai: “Our research team is focusing on the conscious and unconscious mind, and will be conducting a demonstration at the exhibition to allow visitors to experience the sensation of “unconscious ability. It is well known that even if we can normally do something unconsciously or move our body very smoothly, we may not be able to do it or have difficulty doing it if we are overly conscious of it, for example, when we are nervous.

For example, normally you can easily throw trash into the trash can, but if you start to be conscious of whether it goes in or not, or if you are nervous about having to put it in, you will not be able to put it in. There is also a phenomenon known as “sagging feet,” in which the more conscious one is of walking, the more difficult it becomes to walk.

We are working on a model of the conscious and the unconscious, and by supporting the conscious in some way, we can draw out the abilities of the unconscious and “make it work”. We have three scenarios in mind for the demonstration at the exhibition. First, we will ask the robot hand to throw a plectrum into a box using a robot hand it has made. (▲Photo 2▲)

They will experience the experience of using the robot hand to throw the object they see with their own timing and successfully put it into the box.

Next, we perform a visual transformation. When the participants are asked to throw a cue ball by manipulating a robot hand using a pair of opera glasses that makes the box appear close to them, they rely too much on their vision and throw the cue ball in front of them. If you recall the “unconscious muscle movement” of the first throw, the ball should normally go in, but you will experience that it does not go in properly due to various information.

The robot hand has two modes of operation, manual and automatic, and the last mode is to set the robot hand to automatic operation. Then, the robot hand throws the ball with only the waving motion in mind. In the third scenario, we would like the participants to experience that the robot hand, with the support of the automatic movement, can make the unconscious movement go well when they are consciously aware of the movement. The third scenario is to have the robot hand move automatically, which is a supportive experience for the user.

Why are we working on these things? The reason behind this is that we are conducting research on supporting people to bring out their ‘unconscious abilities’. Specifically, we are studying people who have clinically orthopedic conditions, and by providing medical interventions in areas where they are not consciously aware of on a daily basis, we are able to draw out their unconscious abilities and help them move well. While creating several such cases, on the other hand, we are trying to use robotics and AI technology to actually detect diseases and abnormalities and automatically create intervention methods. We hope that those attending the demonstration will experience the modeling of consciousness and unconsciousness practiced in these areas of research and what it means for unconscious abilities to be drawn out through such modeling.”

Drawing out unconscious abilities, promoting behavior change and connecting to human expansion

Ishido: “I have a question about the first scenario. When the robot hand throws a cue ball into a box, it is based on visual information, as if it is throwing the ball while looking at the box, so it would be natural that the ball would not go in once the box is seen nearby. It was not clear to me where the unconscious movement was coming from, so may I ask for some additional information?

Murai: “Yes. We consider the action of ‘looking at the box and throwing a cue ball’ to be ‘throwing in a fairly unconscious state’ if we look at it in terms of conscious/unconsciousness. Human movement can be divided into three categories: reflex, stereotyped, and voluntary, but when we consider ‘how consciously they are performed,’ we can see that walking is a stereotyped movement that implies unconsciousness, and the movement of throwing an object at a target in front of us is also done unconsciously with little awareness of which muscles to move at that time. The movement of throwing an object at a target in front of you is also done unconsciously, with little awareness of which muscles to move at the time.

In other words, we believe that although people are made conscious of using their vision to throw, the everyday action of ‘throwing’ is close to unconsciousness. In contrast, we believe that when people wear opera glasses and focus their attention on their vision, their awareness begins to interfere with what was previously an unconscious action.

As you say, it is natural for people to lose the ability to do things due to changes in vision, but what we hope to convey in this exhibition is that what is naturally lost can be made possible with the support of technology and other means. We wanted to create an experience in which the person is not consciously able to do the action, but is able to do it unconsciously through technology.

Ishido: “I see. For example, in basketball, it is said that a trained player can shoot at the goal even with his eyes closed. They can make the action of shooting without being conscious of it. However, if the player’s attention is diverted to something else, he or she will not be able to shoot. Is that correct?

Murai: “Yes, that’s right. In basketball, you may have seen fans and supporters of the opposing team behind the goal, so-called boosters, wearing costumes and making various signs to obstruct the play, such as shooting. In other words, they are trying to prevent the player from playing well by changing his or her unconscious movements. The intention of this demonstration is to undo that by using technology and other means.

Ishido: “Even if you are not an athlete, I think everyone has experienced that when you are overly conscious and nervous, you are unable to do things that you would normally do as a matter of course. When you are able to switch between conscious and unconscious, or learn to control them, you will be able to perform well in important situations, and people who have the ability but cannot show it when they are nervous will be able to “show their ability.

Mr. Murai: “That is correct. If robotics and other technologies can provide automatic support at that time, I expect that people will unconsciously rely on that power without being aware of it. It will be very interesting to see how such support will change not only people’s behavior, but also their thinking, neurotransmission, and control of movement itself. However, controlling the conscious and unconscious mind itself is very difficult and technically challenging. Therefore, we are considering whether it is possible to successfully cause a transformation in people by first controlling the environment and then designing the interaction between people and the environment.

Ishido: “Certainly, it is practically difficult to switch consciousness/unconsciousness by oneself. In such a situation, it is interesting that external support such as robotics technology can force the switch in a positive sense. You mentioned the change in human behavior. What kind of behavioral changes have you seen in your research results so far, and do you have any specific examples?

Murai: “For example, in the DATSURYOKU project, we created a device that controls the environment in real time in response to human movement. By connecting motion capture to a treadmill used for running at a gym, we built a system that controls speed in real time according to a person’s walking pattern. A normal treadmill has a rotating belt that flows at a constant speed, but our treadmill slows down the motion slightly at the moment a person puts his or her heel on the belt, and then accelerates. We adjust the average speed and other factors so that the average walking speed and other performance factors are the same, but by creating a pattern of interaction that is slower at the moment a person heels onto the treadmill and then faster, we can reduce the force the person receives from the floor, which also reduces injuries. This leads to a reduction in injuries. Kinematically, the force received by the person changes because the floor is moving, but we also found that the activity of the muscles from the knee down, known as the triceps, which people use when they walk, is reduced. We call this “DATSURYOKU,” and when people interact with the environment, if we design the interaction well, we can cause a change in their behavior, or in this case, “DATSURYOKU,” which is like relaxing the muscles. In this case, “DATSURYOKU,” which is a kind of relaxation of muscles. By extending these research results to various human behaviors, we aim to create human extensions that enable everyone to move comfortably and lively.

Enables the successful design of resource allocation of human capacity

Ishido: “I was listening to your talk while thinking about the kinds of situations in which this research and development will be used when it is advanced. What can be done smoothly when driving a car without being aware of it may be difficult for a novice driver to drive smoothly because he or she is too conscious of the situation. I thought that a familiar example would be support in such areas, but what kind of applications do you envision in the future?

Mr. Murai: “I believe that the total amount of things people can do is fixed to some extent. In other words, I believe that the resources of one’s abilities are fixed to some extent, and that people live their daily lives by allocating these resources, whether consciously or unconsciously, to various areas.

In this way, we believe that the technology we are researching will be used to increase the resources available for people to engage in creative activities. For example, when a person walks, if that resource is used intensively for walking, he or she will not be able to think or do other things. Conversely, if a person does not have to use resources when walking, that is, if the act of walking can be done almost unconsciously, then the person will be able to look around and think about things while walking. We believe that this technology can be used to design the successful allocation of human resources in this way.

Where we need to be careful, however, is that when people are assisted by such technology, there is a concern that they may lose their original abilities by relying on it. The important thing is to observe how people are transformed when we intervene with technology, and to provide support so that people’s overall abilities do not decline, while allowing us to devote resources to the creative aspects that people possess.

Ishido: “It is true that we are trying to expand people’s abilities, but if we use the technology in such a way that it rather suppresses human abilities, it would be a waste of time. As research on drawing out unconscious abilities progresses, will there be more and more things that people will be able to do without being aware of them in the future?”

Mr. Murai: “We would like to do so. However, even in such a situation, although people work, there are areas in which they use resources and areas in which they do not. We believe it is necessary to support the unconscious and draw out abilities in order to help people practice the creative areas they really want to work on, while properly using the areas they do use.

Research that contributes to wellbeing and creativity by controlling the conscious/unconscious mind

Ishido: “It is a strange feeling that one’s own actions are controlled by one’s unconscious. What was it that led you to focus on this consciousness and unconsciousness?”

Murai: “In orthopedic conditions, there are many cases in which people cannot do well when they have acquired a disease. Excessive muscle and nerve activity is often seen, and we have found cases where blocking it allows people to move well. Based on these findings, we thought that by controlling the conscious/unconscious mind, we could conduct research that would contribute to human wellbeing and human creativity in the future.”

Ishido: “We are holding the “Brain World for Everyone” exhibit as part of our efforts to promote neurodiversity. We were inspired by the support for people who cannot do things well due to acquired diseases, but the neurodiversity initiative also started as a movement for people with developmental disabilities. Developmental disabilities are often lumped together, but there are various differences among people, including those who are considered “stereotyped” and those who are not. Is there any way to approach such differences through this research and development?

Mr. Murai: “We think there probably is. The way we speak and the way we pay attention are the conscious part, which we voluntarily control. On the other hand, the unconscious part is the part that is unconscious. People must walk, breathe, and throw things in the trash on a daily basis.

If we no longer have to devote resources to that unconscious part, we will be able to allocate resources to areas where we do not, and this will lead us to improve the quality there. I expect that the technology of supporting people’s unconsciousness will be applied in various areas in the future.

Ishido: “In the “Brain World for Everyone” exhibit, there are separate sections. One section is about the diversity of human senses and the differences between people’s senses. There is also a corner where we expand each person’s ease of living by extending each person’s body. This is followed by a corner where we can create a society in which each individual can more easily demonstrate his or her abilities by adjusting the environmental side of things. I thought that Mr. Murai’s research is related to all three of these corners.

If consciousness and unconsciousness can be controlled by mechanical support, I thought it would be possible to experience where other people’s consciousness is directed, and by controlling consciousness/unconsciousness, it would be possible to expand the power of the individual, and when it is difficult to control it, it would be possible to use robots When it is difficult to control the individual’s consciousness/unconsciousness, it may be possible to extend the power of the individual by controlling the consciousness/unconsciousness, and when it is difficult to control the individual, it may be possible to provide support through environmental approaches using robots and other devices.

Murai: “I think you are right. I believe that at the core of this is the interaction between people and the environment. By properly modeling, measuring, analyzing, and designing this interaction, I believe we will be able to connect to the three themes of “Everyone’s Brain World.

Ishido: “When will the technology currently under study be implemented in society and the future you have in mind be realized?

Mr. Murai: “I don’t think we can immediately realize a world in which people’s behavior is changed by creating large-scale devices and designing interactions with them. When it comes to social implementation, there will be social acceptance and technical issues to be solved.

On the other hand, changing human behavior with little intervention is already being practiced in many places. For example, there are technologies that control various external stimuli when viewing a website or fitting shoes when walking. I believe that the next step is to develop technology that can be tailored to the person, to make the person better, to make the person happy, and to select the technology that best suits the person’s needs.

Ishido: “From now on, social acceptability will be enhanced by considering individualized application. Finally, do you have any aspirations for the realization of a neuro-diverse society or for future research?

Mr. Murai: “In terms of neurodiversity, we believe that we need a society in which all people can live happily. Human augmentation technology such as the one we are developing will complement this. It is not something that will make only top athletes happy, but something that will make everyone happy, able to move well, and be active, and we will continue our research to achieve this.

Ishido: “Neurodiversity is a term originally created by people with developmental disabilities. We launched this project with the goal of realizing a society in which each individual can demonstrate his or her strengths while valuing the diversity of each person. I thought that the research conducted by Mr. Murai and his team was in line with that goal.”

Murai: “Consciousness/unconsciousness has many philosophical elements, and it is very difficult to model them properly. We can confirm which parts of the brain are active in the conscious state and which parts are active in the unconscious state using MRI and other methods, but we have yet to model how this actually affects human behavior. I would like to clarify the ‘unconscious’ from this perspective as well.

Ishido: “Proving the unconscious is like proving ‘what is not there,’ if you will. It is very challenging.”

Murai: “We often discuss the definition of the unconscious in our meetings. When we talk about whether everything that is not conscious is unconscious, there is a lot of discussion about the extent to which we are conscious and the extent to which we cannot define the ‘unconscious part. We would like to discuss these issues properly while bringing this challenging research closer to its goal.