In this paper, we carefully examine the peripheral concepts of informatics education and discuss the future of informatics education in the AI age. A computer user in the 1970s had to first learn the operation method of the computer. Fifty years later, the usability of the computer has increased dramatically. However, slight human manipulation is causing new social problems such as fake news and the spread of slander. Therefore, informatics education 50 years ago was centred on computer education, while informatics education in the AI age needs to shift to the information sociology and cyber psychology arenas. The importance of informatics education to a nation's sophistication and education will increase.

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The shift of attention from television watching to internet use can be pointed out as a major change in the younger generation’s information behavior. Particularly, after 8 pm TV watching time has partly been switched to internet use. The great portion of time of internet use is allocated to communication activities, which amount approximately to 65 percent of usage, and the use of social networking services is exceptionally important. In addition, the increase in the number of digital device users who are infants can be mentioned as the other major change in information behavior. Our survey shows that 23.5 percent of infants less than 1 year of age are exposed to smartphones and indicates that half of them watch YouTube. The use rate of LINE has also reached 15 percent among children 6 years of age. There are pros and cons concerning the impact of digital device utilization by infants and ex-posure of infants to social networking services within academic circles. The sudden change of the information environment surrounding infants just started a few years ago and little empirical re-search is yet available. There is a need for further empirical research on the impact of such change.

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We are afraid that we are not always connected to somebody. There are such strong feelings to human relations in the background of Internet addiction today. This reflects the liquefaction of social relationships, and it also reflects the solidification of fellowship groups which occurs through the desire for approval from other people. The feelings of fear in being outside human relations in this connected society direct us to always remain connected through the Internet. Therefore, to resolve Internet addiction, we must not prohibit use of the Internet but reduce constant pressure to connect to somebody by opening daily fellowship groups.

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We describe the approach of “Creative Science and Engineering Literacy”, which is the First-Year Experience (FYE) Program centred on informatics education at the School of Creative Science and Engineering, Waseda University. This program has four features. The first is to provide the same educational content to all first-year students by requiring them to take this program at the same time. The second is to incorporate information literacy education. The third is to actively incorporate active learning. The fourth is to give opportunities to introduce students to specialized fields (informatics, etc.) and to touch on various state-of-the-art researches. From the results of the class questionnaire, we confirmed that this program is functioning effectively as the FYE. As a future task, we found a need for correspondence with first-year students who have already experienced connective education between high schools and universities during their high school days, and information literacy edu-cation to match the current situation of the “smartphone-native generation”.

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In this paper,　we discussed the requirements　of human resources　necessary　for　the　AI　age. In terms of economy, it was suggested that demand and supply to high-value-added services began before the start of the AI age. In terms of human resource development, the importance of the ability to actively cooperate with diverse people was suggested.

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This paper presents an interview on human freedom and dignity under the influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The focused topics include the relation between autonomy and AI’s judgement, the possibility of AI having a human-like mind, the moral issue concerning AI, the ethical education related to AI, the desirable future of higher education, etc. To ensure human freedom with dignity, we must understand properly the essence of AI technology while avoiding excessive expectations.

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In this paper, we discussed the liberal　arts　education　for　coexistence　with artificial　intelligence through employment issues, institutions of basic income, AI's "responsibility" and "emotions", etc. The issue of education in the AI age has three arguing points. First, as an alternative to losing em-ployment in large numbers, it is necessary to train human resources in fields that are predicted to be created. Second, aspects of nurturing AI morals should be discussed. Third, the aspect of the potential scientific basis which is necessary for the AI age is suggested.

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Recent advances in information technology, AI technology, and accompanying services are remark-able. We discuss in this paper, why Japanese informatics education does not advance or does not change, despite the need for human resources suitable for the new AI age.

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This paper uses the “Keio Household Panel Survey” to clarify whether using the Internet gives people a feeling of happiness. Treating “happiness” as a dependent variable, the results of the ordered probit model suggest that the coefficient “use of the Internet” has a positive value with a significance of 0.1%. Therefore, the use of the Internet gives individuals a feeling of happiness. Moreover, there has been no “Internet Paradox” in Japan as of January 2015.

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This paper predicts that the current distinction between quantitative and qualitative methods in psychology will disappear and that both methods will be integrated into a single information and communication technology (ICT)-based method. Considering the history of ICT approaches to psy-chology and related fields, ICT’s future potential for psychology is discussed in this paper. Teaching Python programming is proposed as a way to foster young people’s ICT-related creativity.

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