Technology itself has no value. It is only when technology is realised in products and used in social context that value is created. How can the value, generated by usage, be quantified? Answer to this question will enable the objective discussion on the true meaning of a prosperous society. We scientifically investigate what kind of technology is desirable from the perspective of value in society.
Unlike the design of products, the act of designing services involves the problem of determining the mechanism and rules in the utilisation process of a service/product. It is difficult to apply the conventional knowledge of product design, and the accumulation of scientific research is insufficient for this matter. While most of the service operations in reality are executed by experience and intuition, a scientific approach to the service industry, which accounts for more than 70% of the GDP, is an important key to economic development.
Economic activities that enable sustainable development are required. It is necessary to realise the Circular Economy, which utilises new services, social systems and business models such as sharing services, for the efficient use and circulation of resources are realised simultaneously with the creation of new values. We try to scientifically clarify the structure of economic systems that accomplishes the Circular Economy model.
Interdependent decision-making events in social systems are represented as abstract mathematical models. Equilibrium analysis is performed on the assumption of player rationality.
Mechanism design is an advanced field of game theory that assumes the rationality of individual players and aims to design institutions and rules that achieve socially desirable outcomes.
Examine the decision-making behaviour of real human subjects in a virtual economy environment. Preference of the subjects is controlled by means of cash rewards basing on the scores acquired during the experiment.
Construct and analyse systems formed by local interactions between a large number of autonomous agents. This leads to a constructivist approach with emergence as a core concept.
Nishino Laboratory
Department of Technology Management for Innovation, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
Hongo 7-3-1, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656 Japan