Imperfection is What Makes Humans Unique. Dentsu CXCC and Future Business Creation Lab Collaborate to Design Future Living and Happiness

In this feature, we interview Susumu Namikawa, head of Dentsu’s Customer Experience Creative Center (CXCC) and Kentaro Yoshida, founder of Future Business Creation Lab., two organizations utilizing the latest solutions in creative planning. We spoke with them about the current state of AI utilization, future living, and the future of CX.

Redrawing the future with digitally powered CX

—Can I kick off by asking what projects you both are currently involved in?

Namikawa: As head of CXCC, I design customer experience (CX) creative content that utilizes AI and various other technologies to extend our clients’ business and communication abilities.

Based on the concept that “future living” will be a major theme when we envision a people-centered future, in 2024 we reorganized our unit and launched the Future Living Research Division. Put simply, our starting point was that everything from clothing, food and housing are all experiences at a fundamental level, and therefore thinking about how people live their lives is the same as thinking about CX.

At the moment, we’re working on various projects together with Future Business Creation Lab., where Yoshida-san is the founder, and also with other internal teams at Dentsu Inc. and various research organizations.

Yoshida: Namikawa-san and I are on the same page in terms of the direction we are aiming for. With people’s lifestyles and society changing due to the impact of a declining birthrate, aging population and the residual effects of COVID-19, I have a real sense that society as a whole has growing needs for the future.

It was in order to boost our organizational and expert capacity to support future creativity that Future Business Creation Lab. was established in 2021, as a cross-group organization to bring together dentsu’s collective knowledge. It was my own desire to work on initiatives that the next generation can look forward to in the future that also played a part in the launch of the Future Business Creation Lab.

—Can you tell us about some of the products you have released in your various business ventures?

Namikawa: The Future Living Research Division is developing services using City Watch, a disaster prevention information API (application programming interface) that can distribute information at various local government levels from citywide to individual villages for use in everything from advance preparedness to emergency announcements. City Watch launched in 2018 and the disaster prevention information is available in 15 languages. Not only does it provide awareness-raising contents about what to do in an emergency and information useful for everyday living, it also issues alerts when emergencies arise. We are currently adding more information and using the feedback we receive to expand the API for use in a wider variety of scenarios.

In June 2024 we released R&D&C, a solution that helps companies accelerate their R&D activities into the future with creativity. R&D is a critical activity if companies and organizations are to strategically boost their competitiveness in a diverse social environment, but R&D comes with its own set of problems, such as people not understanding the features of a technology or product, or difficulties in commercializing research outcomes. That is where we come in to help overcome challenges, providing “Creativity” that responds to a company’s situation and needs, assisting with idea generation, prototyping and commercialization.

Yoshida: We’re also testing out ways to create novels of the future using generative AI. When we think about the future, very few people can put into words what kind of people, what kind of shops, what kind of actions, and what kind of experiences there will be. However, if we can use generative AI to give that vague image of the future better clarity, we can similarly create output that is better aligned with the target. It is in creating that initial starting point where generative AI really excels.

The tremendous value of wellbeing in AI-assisted CX creation

—Generative AI is becoming an ever more familiar presence in everyone’s lives. What do we need to be mindful of when using AI technologies in CX creation?

Yoshida: While AI reduces our workloads and provides us with new inspirations, that sense of convenience will gradually become less valuable. That is why we need to look further beyond the rationalization of AI and consider the question “what will make people happy in the future?” Wellbeing is something that will have tremendous value when using AI in CX creation.

We must concentrate thoroughly on how people make decisions, what it is they experience, and what positive feelings they derive from this experience. Before even starting on CX design, my feeling is that the elements that make people happy are the creation of serendipity by AI and the creation of latent desires that lead people into wanting something, or wanting to be or become someone.

Namikawa: That’s why in the AI age “will” becomes ever-more important.

While I myself have a strong “will to do” in order to create a comfortable life, many people have a “will to be” a certain way. It is this “will to do” or “will to be” that will become extremely important in the future. People feel comfortable with making their own decisions, and that is something we must never let go of. As decisions become increasingly important, I hope AI will be able to amplify those decisions in a good way.

Yoshida: That’s a really good way of looking at it. If you apply the same thinking to CX, wellbeing in life in general could be termed as “macro CX,” or the “will to be.” In contrast, individual pleasures, such as what is good to eat or what is enjoyable to experience could be seen as “micro CX,” or the “will to do.” The challenge is how to create circumstances in which we can spend our days happily, in good health, with the people we love. Although there are health-tracking services available, the contribution of AI to generating happiness is something that hasn’t been fully discussed, as yet.

—Technology has tended to be perceived as a tool for bringing about individual convenience and comfort, but if it could be applied in ways that improves society and communities, it could bring about further changes, couldn’t it?

Finding opportunities for communication creation through AI

—How do you think AI will change communication among people?

Namikawa: In terms of setting out ideas, I think generative AI will help to facilitate discussion. At Dentsu we are testing the introduction of generative AI in planning meetings. In discussions between creators and clients about AI-generated proposals there have been cases where, because the idea has been generated by AI and not another person, it is easier not to hold back from stating candid opinions.

Using generative AI as a third party makes it easier for both parties to communicate, or you could say it enhances the value of direct communication between people.

Yoshida: Another example is matching apps, and I think generative AI has a big intermediary role to play in that area. In situations where conversations dry up it can come up with new topics and we can find something to talk about by looking at the actions of AI.

If generative AI is present in meetings, it can also be a strict timekeeper and keep the conversation on track and prevent it from going off on tangents. It would be capable of summing up the outcomes of a meeting objectively, and not make decisions that are colored by any individual bias.

—You could say that AI makes it easier to talk frankly and that AI takes on the role of facilitator.

Namikawa: That being said, there are still points of concern about any bias that generative AI may have. We have to remember that generative AI isn’t an all-knowing, omnipresent god, and it is dangerous to treat it as being totally unbiased.

However, in all likelihood in the future bias will be tuned out of any generative AI. As we interact with generative AI, it could also help us to recognize our own biases.

Yoshida: It’s perhaps a little off topic, but this could also link up with diversity. For example, if there is a person who is prejudiced against someone from another country, generative AI could step in as a third party to translate and promote mutual understanding.

AI provides psychological assurance and if both parties can find themselves feeling positively about each other, we could create a world where everyone lives happily together. That’s the kind of vision we need to keep in mind when designing CX.

—It is finding those communication creation opportunities through AI that will be such an important part of our future work.

The increasing presence of AI highlights the kindness of people

—What kind of presence will AI become in the future?

Namikawa: The vision of the future will change depending on whether you perceive AI as a tool or as a person. It might seem a little sci-fi, but in Japan where the population is shrinking there could be a way for AI to come to be seen not as a tool, but as something approaching a human partner. What do you think about that possibility, Yoshida-san?

Yoshida: I have the same feeling, that AI could move in that direction. People generally gravitate in a direction that feels good for them, and if you have a dialogue partner who approves of you, helps you out with something, and makes you feel good in the process, it’s perhaps inevitable that the way to seeing AI as human will open up.

Population decline and labor shortages will both become major challenges, and if we can put AI to work we could see the emergence of “AI employees.” Then it will probably be time to think about various new ethical issues too.

—Yes, you could also imagine having AI friends and AI lovers, too, couldn’t you?

Namikawa: That is certainly a possibility. Many sci-fi movies depict AI rising up and taking over from humans, but the reality is that many people feel that it is easier to deal with AI. This may lead to a gradual process where we come to rely on AI, creating such a world.

Yoshida: Before that happens, we need to identify where it is that human values lie, don’t we?

When we reach a situation where we have to ask AI for everything, what value does having a person do something for us or even engaging in conversation have? I think that “micro CX” value will emerge from the increased time we have to experience things and the enhanced quality of those experiences, but the value of interpersonal relationships is not clearly visible.

Namikawa: I think that the “will” I spoke about earlier is one such human value. Another thing that could be seen as a human value is that we are less skillful than AI. In a sense it’s human kindness, and perhaps our appreciation of art and culture, too.

—So while AI may highlight human weaknesses, it is those weaknesses that could be seen to be something of value?

Yoshida: I think it’s precisely that imperfection or incompleteness that is part of the value of humans, and the rise of AI won’t make humans obsolete. Of course, there will be some aspects where humans simply can’t compete, like calculations or the speed at which AI can come up with ideas. However, the process whereby people carry through something from start to finish and outputting the results is something that should become more important.

Namikawa: Narrative is also a major theme, wouldn’t you say?

I think that what people find moving is based on the things and experiences they have accumulated up until that point in time. What we perceive will differ depending on our original experiences, don’t you think? Therefore, things like sports, where processes are visualized, will probably become more popular in the future. I think we can expect the value of the steady accumulation of things and experiences to increase.

—And in that process CX is likely to also change, isn’t it?

Yoshida: One point that interests me is whether people will become more tolerant through AI interventions. After all, finding value in the imperfect nature of humans could conceivably mean that we become more selfish or egotistical. We are actually seeing recently that rather than becoming more tolerant, people can instead become more narrow-minded. If the use of AI progresses and we have more time on our hands, it may result in us being kinder to each other and life becoming easier.

My hope is that we can properly design a happy and pleasant atmosphere that is not just enforced by rules, but also by mutual understanding.

Namikawa: That’s a really important perspective. Although technologies including AI will continue to evolve rapidly, we should aim to use these to create a happy world that recognizes diversity.