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English / 日本語
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Ikko Tanaka

Core Member

Associate Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts and Sciences, J. F. Oberlin University

Former Visiting Scholar at the School of Classics, University of St Andrews; Assistant Professor at the Center for the Promotion of Excellence in Higher Education, Kyoto University; and Full-time Lecturer at J. F. Oberlin University. Currently serves as Regional Representative (Asia, Australia, and Africa) of the International Plato Society, Executive Committee Member of the Japanese Ancient Philosophy Research Network, and Principal Investigator of the Japan Association for College and University Education research project “Guidelines for the Use of Generative AI in Higher Education.” Co-developer and operator, together with Nagoya University and the University of Tokyo, of the Humanitext Series, an AI system for classical studies. Ph.D. (Literature), Kyoto University.

Researchmap X

As a member of the Humanitext Project, I conduct research on methods of linking primary texts with secondary literature, and I am involved in the development of Humanitext Reader, a multilingual reading environment. I conduct research on the use of generative AI in higher education, including the educational applications of Humanitext and the development of a real-time voice conversation system based on classical texts.

  • Humanitext Reader

    • Humanitext Reader is a reading environment that links Western classical primary texts with major commentaries, scholarly articles, and other works on a word-by-word and line-by-line basis. Since a vast amount of secondary literature on the classics has been accumulated in various languages, it is not easy to read and interpret them in an integrated manner. Humanitext Reader makes it possible to browse, translate, and summarize such works, as well as to generate new interpretations that differ from those found in previous scholarship.

  • Educational Applications of Humanitext

    • Hallucination (false information) often discourages learners from using generative AI. In contrast, Humanitext is based on curated texts prepared by experts, which greatly reduces hallucinations. Learners can therefore use AI for study and research without fear of being misled. I am conducting research on educational programs that take full advantage of such AI.

  • Real-Time Voice Conversation System

    • In fields such as entertainment, business, and education, voice-based AI plays an important role. Using the Humanitext system, what if it became possible to have real-time voice conversations with various philosophers? Philosophy was originally practiced through dialogue, and in the future, it may become possible to learn by engaging in simulated conversations with important authors, thinkers, and scholars. As a trial outcome, we were involved in the release of an AI Socrates prototype, and a public experiment was conducted in Shibuya’s Center Street (2025).