Artificial intelligence (AI) and video analytics are rapidly becoming integral parts of our lives, transforming corporate activities, and creating many opportunities to improve the human condition. Recent developments in the field have led some experts to suggest that the ability of AI has moved beyond recognition to cognition, where AI is not only able to grasp concepts but find deeper or "hidden" meaning from images. Dr. Shin'ichi Satoh of the National Institute of Informatics (NII) and Dr. Tatsuhiko Kagehiro, head of Hitachi's Lumada Data Science Laboratory, met to discuss the current state and next wave of advancements in this field and to explore the possibilities of social application. Dr. Satoh is a leading expert in video analytics research and AI that leads to customer collaborative creation, and Dr. Kagehiro is director of Hitachi's Artificial Intelligence Innovation Center, which conducts research and development. Mr. Tomoaki Yoshinaga, Senior Researcher at the Lumada Data Science Laboratory, moderated the discussion.

Imagine being surrounded by technologies, and hardly being aware of them. For instance, a person walks into a room and without doing anything, the entire atmosphere is fine-tuned to his or her current mood or expectations. Measurements are taken, personal data is sensed and recorded, and the room adjusts to integrate with the person's countenance. All this occurs without turning a switch or adjusting an appliance--simply walk into the room. We're beginning to move in this direction, with recent advances in medical technology, with personal fitness devices, and with smart home systems.