It’s Getting Fuzzy
Today I was happily introduced to the Japanese concept of iki–which seems to describe my oddly fuzzy feeling.
I had an interesting conversation at the Media Lab today with visiting researcher Nozomi Kakiuchi, from Toshiba. Recently, I’ve been feeling that the technology world needs to move away from the exact and numerically precise, and instead toward a more vague and fuzzy language of expression.
Nozomi and I chatted about the strange “fuzzy logic” fad in Japan of the early 1990s, when it was not uncommon to see a “fuzzy logic vacuum cleaner” or a “fuzzy logic rice cooker” on sale in the Akihabara electronics district of Tokyo. The premise is quite simple: instead of encoding values as numbers, ranges of numbers are tagged as having membership association with a word. Words are such great containers of knowledge.
Nozomi suggested that our conversation was essentially about iki (pronounced “ee-kee”). It’s something to do with inexactness and openness but all in all “the right fit” to a complex issue. Although it’s difficult to comprehend, I totally got it. I guess iki is iki too.
Keep Reading
Most Popular
DeepMind’s cofounder: Generative AI is just a phase. What’s next is interactive AI.
“This is a profound moment in the history of technology,” says Mustafa Suleyman.
What to know about this autumn’s covid vaccines
New variants will pose a challenge, but early signs suggest the shots will still boost antibody responses.
Human-plus-AI solutions mitigate security threats
With the right human oversight, emerging technologies like artificial intelligence can help keep business and customer data secure
Next slide, please: A brief history of the corporate presentation
From million-dollar slide shows to Steve Jobs’s introduction of the iPhone, a bit of show business never hurt plain old business.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.