Shunichi Kasahara

When humans integrate with computers, to what extent are we still ourselves? Computers are no longer just tools for humans, but are deeply intervening in our bodies and behavior. When humans integrate with computers and acquire abilities and different bodies beyond what we currently possess, how do we define our own humanity?
I am researching "Cybernetic Humanity," which is a new concept of humanity that emerges from the integration of humans and computers, through the intersection of computer science and human science. My research will focus on augmenting perception, cognition, and embodiment, elucidating the "self" through subjective experiences and understanding the dynamics of humanity that are woven by the integration of humans and computers.
The exploration of Cybernetic Humanity requires connecting and discussing the contradictory and complex nature of augmented physicality and inherited humanity. To tackle this, I adopt not only a reductive approach but also a circular experiential research process that involves creating and analyzing new "experiences" of the body and humanity as an open system.
I aim to bring about new science in human-computer integration and lead to co-evolutionary and co-creative relationships between humans and computers.

Cybernetic Humanity

Selected Publications
Shunichi Kasahara, Jun Nishida, and Pedro Lopes. 2019. Preemptive Action: Accelerating Human Reaction using Electrical Muscle Stimulation Without Compromising Agency, In CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Proceedings (CHI 2019), May 4-9, 2019, Glasgow, Scotland Uk. ACM, New York, NY, USA, 15 pages. https://doi.org/10.1145/3290605.3300873
Kasahara, Shunichi and Konno, Keina and Owaki, Richi and Nishi, Tsubasa and Takeshita, Akiko and Ito, Takayuki and Kasuga, Shoko and Ushiba, Junichi Malleable Embodiment: Changing Sense of Embodiment by Spatial-Temporal Deformation of Virtual Human Body Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems ISBN:978-1-4503-4655-9 DOI:10.1145/3025453.3025962 pages6438-6448 May 2017 ACM
Kasahara, Shunichi and Ando, Mitsuhito and Suganuma, Kiyoshi and Rekimoto, Jun Parallel Eyes: Exploring Human Capability and Behaviors with Paralleled First Person View Sharing Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems ISBN:978-1-4503-3362-7 DOI:10.1145/2858036.2858495 pages1561-1572 May 2016 ACM