March 25th 2024
Congratulatory Address for the 2024 Spring Commencement Ceremony
Yasunori Mitani, the President
Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech)
It is our great pleasure us to hold the 2024 Spring Commencement
Ceremony with you today.
On behalf of the faculty member and staff of Kyutech, I would like to offer
heartfelt congratulations to everyone who receives the degrees today. Also, I
would like to convey our celebration and gratitude to the parents and families
who have supported the graduates in every possible way until this day.
You may reminisce about the days when you worked hard on your researchand the time you spent with your friends, seniors, and supervisors, therefore
let’s take this significant opportunity and a moment to express your sincere
gratitude to all of them and your family who have supported you throughout
your academic life at Kyutech.
Most of you were forced to start your university life which was uncertain of
the way forward during the unforeseen state of emergency due to thepandemic which also suddenly disrupted your interactive and enjoyable
campus life four years ago. I am certain that those of you who have overcome
the difficulties and such drastic changes in lifestyle will surely overcome any
future challenges in your life as well. One of the most important keys tosuccess is to take such an incident as valuable experiences and maintain apositive attitude towards tackling any challenges. In your future life, please
do not be bound by common sense, use your experience of various events
during your university life as fuel, and have fun taking on many challenges.
Now, one of the most significant changes occurred in your university life isthat AI has become integrated into many aspects of our lives. I'm sure you
have all used generative AI on various occasions. The best example of thiscan be said to be the spread of generative AI represented such as by ChatGPT.

On the other hand, the so-called “singularity”, a technological singularity
where generative AI exceeds human capabilities, is becoming a reality. As aresult, there are growing concerns that many human jobs will be replaced byAI. With generational AI advancing to this point, we are now entering an era
in which it would be no surprise to think that this congratulatory address thatI am giving to you today was also written by AI
Under such circumstances, what should you do from now on to avoid losing
your job to AI? It is believed that AI primarily targets what are known as"manual workers" or those who only wait for instructions before starting towork. In contrast, the ability to think critically, discover and solve problems
with a rich human network, experience, and initiative, while maintaining
curiosity towards everything, is an irreplaceable human skill by AI.
Fortunately, for those of you who graduated from Kyutech today, I believe
you have had the opportunity to experience discovering social issues andsolving them in a variety of situations since we, Kyutech, have been
increasing opportunities and creating environment for you to train criticalthinking based on knowledge and experience.
I expect you to be able to acquire skills and continue learning many thingsin the future. The important thing is that this graduation should not be agraduation from learning but an entering to a new advantage of various
opportunities and continuous learning.
Today we are forced to carry out social activities under a number ofextremely difficult constraints and problems of environment, energy
resources, international conflicts and divisions, and the international politicalsituation. It will be a big challenge, but flexible thinking and action are thekey to turn a crisis into an opportunity.
I can ensure you that the solid science and engineering skills and ethics
which you have cultivated and the bonds with people around the world thatyou have interacted with during your university life and the youthful power,action, and breakthrough power backed by your global competency will befully demonstrated in the future so that I can expect to see the dramaticdevelopment of our society which process will act as a powerful restoring
force that will return the world to a state of peace, and that it will become adriving force for global prosperity.
For those of you who are about to embark on your journey into society, I am
confident that you will fully utilize the abilities you have acquired at Kyutech
and overcome various difficulties. Meantime, we will always open our door for
you as we are evolving ourselves to become the place where you can haveconsultations based on the trust but also brush up your skills and to create
new collaboration.
I have long believed that a university should not be just a place for nurturing
young people because innovation explosion does happen when people withdiverse attributes such as nationality, ethnic background, gender, ages, andso forth come together.
Finally, I would like to extend my congratulations on your new start for yourprosperous

futureandsuccessbycontinuously

enjoying

yourlife,

experiencing many things, thinking, learning, and playing an important rolein this ever-changing era by utilizing the many good encounters you have hadat Kyutech as a valuable asset. I would like to conclude my address by wishing
you all the best in your life and congratulating you on your new successfuljourney.
Thank you very much and congratulations.