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Journal of Technology and Social Science (JTSS, J. Tech. Soc. Sci.)

An international open-access peer-reviewed journal

ISSN 2432-5686

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Vol.10, No.2

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Reconstructing Ethical Principles and Sociotechnical Infrastructure for the Defense of Democracy in the Age of AGI - Disclosure of an Awarded Research Plan -

Yusaku Fujii

Journal of Technology and Social Science, Vol.10, No.2, pp.1-12, 2026.

Abstract: This article discloses the objectives, methods, and budget plan of the research project “Reconstructing Ethical Principles and Sociotechnical Infrastructure for the Defense of Democracy in the Age of AGI” (Grant No. 26K21972), which was awarded funding under the FY2026 Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research, Challenging Research (Exploratory). It is an expanded version of a Japanese explanatory article published in the Japanese Journal of Social Safety and Privacy (JpnJSSP), prepared with a view to publication in English in the Journal of Technology and Social Science (JTSS), and supplemented with concise summaries of five related papers. The project seeks ways to secure “human dignity,” a precondition for democracy, and “privacy protection,” one of democracy’s necessary conditions, in the age of artificial general intelligence (AGI). Task 1 addresses the ethical redefinition of human dignity against the background of the loss of the economic value of human labor, concentration of wealth, and widening inequality caused by the convergence of AGI and robotics. It draws on ancient Rome’s “bread and circuses” as a form of civic privilege in a labor-free society and on contemporary universal basic income (UBI) experiments. Task 2 proposes institutional design guidelines for a technical and institutional foundation that protects privacy by extending VRAIO (Verifiable Record of AI Output) to AI systems as a whole, particularly as a safeguard against misuse and abuse by insiders. Human dignity provides the ethical basis for privacy protection, while VRAIO provides a technical and institutional basis for protecting human dignity. The project will run for three years, from FY2026 to FY2028, with total direct costs of JPY 5 million. This article is intended to serve as a common reference point through which project participants can share the research content and budget plan and assess specific budget proposals.

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