Bridging the AI Divide: Education, Sovereignty, and Well-being in the Intelligent Age (SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026)
更新日：8月26日
Event: AI x Education for Well-being in the Intelligent Age Speakers:
Teruo Fujii (President of the University of Tokyo)
Bolor-Erdene Battsengel (Founder and CEO of AI Academy Asia; Former Vice Minister of Digital Development of Mongolia)
At the Impact Stage of SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026, Teruo Fujii, President of The University of Tokyo, and Bolor-Erdene Battsengel, Founder and CEO of AI Academy Asia and former Vice Minister of Digital Development of Mongolia, convened to address one of the most pressing issues of the digital era: "AI x Education for Well-being in the Intelligent Age."
Building upon their previous year's discussion at AI House Davos—which brought together global academic and tech leaders to discuss social applications of artificial intelligence—the speakers shifted the focus from technological capabilities to human-centric enablement. In what Fujii terms the "Intelligent Age," where co-existence with AI is inevitable, the primary objective of technology must be redefined as fostering individual and collective well-being.
1. The Global Paradox: AI as an "Inequality Enabler"
Despite the rapid advancement of generative AI models in hubs like Silicon Valley and Beijing, Battsengel delivered a stark reminder of the global digital divide. Without proactive intervention, AI risks acting as an "inequality enabler" rather than a tool for progress.
Global Disparities: Today, approximately 2.2 billion people worldwide remain disconnected from the internet, and 750 million people live without access to electricity.
The Mongolian Model: In Mongolia, where 75% of the population is under the age of 37 and 70 million livestock roam the vast countryside, connectivity itself is not the primary bottleneck.
Overcoming Geography: Through substantial investments—including Japanese telecom giant KDDI’s backing of local operator MobiCom and the integration of Starlink in nomadic regions—95% of Mongolia’s 3.5 million citizens have internet access, owning a total of 7 million smartphones.
Empowering Teachers: To turn physical connectivity into real educational opportunities, AI Academy Asia partnered with Mongolia's Golomt Bank to train the nation's first 10,000 teachers in AI. This program now delivers specialized AI education to 20,000 children in remote nomadic areas, a model currently being replicated in Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and India.
2. The Imperative of "AI Sovereignty"
As global technology systems become increasingly centralized, the preservation of local identity has emerged as a major geopolitical concern. Both speakers emphasized the dual nature of "AI Sovereignty" to prevent smaller nations from becoming entirely dependent on global tech conglomerates.
Systemic & Hardware Dominance: High-scale language models and the foundational graphics processing units (GPUs) that power them are controlled by a tiny handful of global vendors and tech giants.
Linguistic & Cultural Erosion: The vast majority of internet data used to train Large Language Models (LLMs) is English-centric. Because language is inherently intertwined with cultural nuance, relying solely on global models can erode local cultures.
Localized Technological Development: Fujii highlighted the necessity of building sovereign AI models. Developing specialized local-language systems (such as Mongolian and Japanese LLMs) on top of foundational models is essential to preserving national heritage, local idioms, and cultural frameworks.
3. Re-engineering Higher Education: The University of Tokyo's Active AI Stance
Regarding educational policy, Fujii rejected the notion of restricting generative AI in academia, asserting that the University of Tokyo actively encourages the use of AI.
Active Classroom Integration: Attempting to ban AI is futile. UTokyo incorporates AI tools directly into seminars, where students use multiple AI models as "active participants" to evaluate performance, contrast outputs, and critically analyze technological limits.
Scaling Tech Literacy: Through preeminent AI researcher Professor Yutaka Matsuo, UTokyo offers specialized AI courses that attract 10,000 to 20,000 students annually, allowing undergraduates and graduates across all disciplines to leverage AI in their respective fields.
Global Hands-on Experience: UTokyo encourages bilateral learning. For instance, in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), UTokyo students traveled to Ghana to teach basic digital literacy at a school for deaf children, demonstrating that digital education is a reciprocal learning process.
4. Shifting the Educational Paradigm: From Knowledge to Skills
The advent of AI requires a fundamental transformation in how global education is designed.
The Demise of "Encyclopedic" Learning: Historically, higher education aimed to produce graduates with encyclopedic knowledge. Because AI can retrieve and synthesize information instantly, this model is obsolete.
Focus on Practical Skillsets: Modern curricula must focus on practical execution, algorithm engineering, and the ethical use of technology. Traditional academic boundaries are "melting," as demonstrated by the Nobel Prizes in Physics (Geoffrey Hinton) and Chemistry (Demis Hassabis) being awarded to AI pioneers, signaling a convergence of scientific disciplines.
The Launch of the UTokyo College of Design: To attract global talent and foster international collaboration, UTokyo is launching the UTokyo College of Design—the university's first new college in 70 years.
Broadening "Design": The institution defines design not just as aesthetics, but as the systemic architecture of global solutions, such as healthcare systems and international AI governance frameworks.
Global Accessibility: The curriculum is taught entirely in English, features a four-semester entry system, and guarantees housing for all first-year students.
Accelerated Masters: This five-year integrated program leads directly to a Master's degree and requires a 6-to-12-month off-campus internship, opening opportunities for collaborative projects with initiatives like AI Academy Asia.
5. Mitigating Technology Risks: International Standards & Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
Reflecting on the social media era—where a lack of coordination between big tech, governments, and civil society led to systemic issues like cyberbullying and misinformation—Battsengel warned that AI could amplify these harms through deepfakes and advanced technical risks.
Global Code of Conduct: Fujii pointed to Japan's leadership in the Hiroshima AI Process, an initiative fostering collaboration among governments, industries, and academia to establish safety standards and ethical guidelines.
Lifelong Learning Alliances: Because technological acceleration makes a standard four-year degree outdated within years of graduation, universities must establish global alliances for continuous re-skilling.
The Role of EQ and Mental Resilience: Lana Iwabuchi, founder of the leadership well-being consultancy Rocklets, raised a crucial point on the non-technical skills required to navigate the AI era. In response, Battsengel shared AI Academy Asia’s pilot program for children aged 9 to 12, which successfully integrates Emotional Intelligence (EQ) with AI training, teaching students mental resilience alongside coding to combat the digital stresses of high technology.
Conclusion: A Collaborative Blueprint for the Intelligent Age
The dialogue between President Teruo Fujii and Bolor-Erdene Battsengel culminated in a shared, actionable vision for an inclusive global education framework. The ultimate conclusion of the session is that bridging the digital divide requires more than physical infrastructure; it demands a deliberate synergy between early education (such as AI Academy Asia’s grassroots EQ and AI programs) and higher education (like the University of Tokyo’s UTokyo College of Design).
By shifting the academic paradigm from rote memorization to practical problem-solving, nurturing emotional intelligence alongside technical literacy, and establishing international safety standards like the Hiroshima AI Process, society can ensure that artificial intelligence serves as an equalizer rather than a wedge. The session concluded with a strong commitment to future collaboration, charting a pathway where cutting-edge technology and deep-rooted cultural traditions coexist to foster true global well-being.
