As a creative entertainment company, Sony seeks to use AI technology to unleash the potential of human creativity.
For artists and creators who produce entertainment,
this means supporting efforts to raise their creativity to the next level.
And for people who enjoy entertainment, Sony aspires to transform their lifestyles.
Our AI innovations will create new culture which brings more inspiration to people's lives.
Sony is also breaking into new fields like agriculture, medicine, and education with initiatives
for a sustainable society on the global scale.

Initiatives

• Creativity
• Lifestyle
• Social Agenda

AI x CreativityExpanding creativity

Sony intends to use AI technology to expand the creativity of artists and creators
in an effort to move people emotionally throughout the world.
Providing new means of expression enables completely new creative activities.

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  Yuki Mitsufuji Fundamental Technology Research and Development Div. 1, R&D Center
  Sony Corporation

  The freedom to extract audio gives you the freedom
  to create new music

  Audio source separation

  

  Yuki Mitsufuji Fundamental Technology Research and Development Div. 1, R&D Center
  Sony Corporation

  AI that understands the characteristics of music can be used to extract and rearrange individual instruments from music that consists of a mix of sounds. This makes it possible to create multitrack data from old records, for example. This gives artists the freedom to create completely new music, and to give listeners musical experiences the likes of which never existed before.

  • ＞　Interview article
  • ＞　soundmain
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  Yuki Mitsufuji（left） Tokyo Laboratory 21, R&D Center, Sony Corporation

  Tatsuya Haraguchi（center） EdgeTech Project,
  Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc.

  Yoshikazu Takashima（right） Sony Pictures Entertainment
  Entertainment Innovation & Technology Group

  New Excitement and Fun Ways to Enjoy Video and Audio Content

  AI Sound Separation x Entertainment

  

  Yuki Mitsufuji（left） Tokyo Laboratory 21, R&D Center, Sony Corporation

  Tatsuya Haraguchi（center） EdgeTech Project,
  Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc.

  Yoshikazu Takashima（right） Sony Pictures Entertainment
  Entertainment Innovation & Technology Group

  AI that can separate specific sounds from a source with a mix of sounds has been adopted by devices and apps to provide great convenience to users. Furthermore, we are expanding possibilities in the field of entertainment such as remastering classic movie soundtracks and creating a new karaoke distribution service.

  • ＞　Interview article
  • ＞　soundmain
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  Tatsuya Yamori Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc.

  Supporting musicians' creativity

  Flow Machines

  

  Tatsuya Yamori Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc.

  Flow Machines is a research and development project that Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc. (Sony CSL) provides the technical assistance for aiming to expand musicians' creativity in music. Musicians' creativity is supported through Flow Machines Professional, an AI-assisted songwriting tool that gives musicians the freedom to create melodies in various styles.

  • ＞　Flow Machines
  • ＞　Sony CSL
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  Michael Spranger AI collaboration office
  Sony Corporation
  Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc. (Sony CSL)

  Exploring new possibilities in cooking with robotics

  AI x Cooking

  

  Michael Spranger AI collaboration office
  Sony Corporation
  Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc. (Sony CSL)

  This is a project to expand chefs' creativity and explore new possibilities in cooking. We will advance the science of the five senses and create new cuisine by encouraging cooperation between humans and robots, introducing many kinds of sensing technologies to the field of cooking, and promoting analysis of the senses of sight, taste, hearing, smell, and touch.

  • ＞　Concept Movie
  • ＞　Stories
  • ＞　Sony AI

AI x LifestyleRealizing lifestyles full of emotion

Sony's AI technology will provide completely new forms of entertainment and
make everyday life richer and more fun.
These new lifestyles are sure to fill people with emotion.

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  Takuma Morita AI Robotics Business Group
  Sony Corporation

  Creating lifestyles where robots and humans make emotional connections

  aibo

  

  Takuma Morita AI Robotics Business Group
  Sony Corporation

  aibo is an autonomous entertainment robot for the home, designed to grow as it is showered with love as a member of the family. As it interacts with people, aibo gains an understanding of them and takes part in a two-way communication of feelings with them. People naturally open their hearts to aibo's lovable behavior, which brings delight to the everyday lives of its owners.

  • ＞　Interview article
  • ＞　aibo official site
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  Yu Kimishima · Shinichi Inoue Software Technology Div.1, Digital Imaging Group
  Sony Imaging Products & Solutions Inc.

  Photography just got a whole lot more fun

  Real-time Eye AF

  

  Yu Kimishima · Shinichi Inoue Software Technology Div.1, Digital Imaging Group
  Sony Imaging Products & Solutions Inc.

  Real-time Eye AF makes it possible to shoot like a professional photographer, with perfect focus on the eye in the split-second when the subject-even a challenging subject like a child on the move-turns to face the camera. Furthermore, deep learning made Real-time Eye AF compatible with animals as well. Real-time Eye AF will change your everyday life with your camera.

  • ＞　Interview article
  • ＞　Eye AF
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  Hiroshi Ohba（left） V&S Business Group, Sony Home Entertainment & Sound Products, Inc.

  Toru Chinen（center）・Yuki Yamamoto（right） Tokyo Laboratory 20, Sony Corporation R&D Center

  Wearable AI makes your music experience immersive

  DSEE Extreme™

  

  Hiroshi Ohba（left） V&S Business Group, Sony Home Entertainment & Sound Products, Inc.

  Toru Chinen（center）・Yuki Yamamoto（right） Tokyo Laboratory 20, Sony Corporation R&D Center

  The most familiar wearable devices to people are "headphones". Incorporating Sony's unique sensing technology and AI into them brings changes not only to the relationship between people and music but also to their daily lives.

  • ＞　Interview article
  • ＞　WH-1000XM4 Wireless Noise-Canceling Headphones

AI × Social AgendaContributing to humanity and society

Sony has begun to expand the application of its AI technology into various fields beyond entertainment.
We strives to help people face global-scale problems that are difficult to solve through human thinking alone, in order to create a happy future for humanity and to contribute to the development of a sustainable society.

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  Takahito Migita (Left) Cloud Service Development Dept, AI Robotics Business Group, Sony Corporation

  Yohei Hashimoto (Right) Mobility Service Dept., Minnano Taxi Corporation

  Optimizing transportation

  Minnano Taxi - S.RIDE / Demand prediction

  

  Takahito Migita (Left) Cloud Service Development Dept, AI Robotics Business Group, Sony Corporation

  Yohei Hashimoto (Right) Mobility Service Dept., Minnano Taxi Corporation

  Minnano Taxi (Everybody's Taxi) Corporation is a joint venture of Sony Corporation, Sony Payment Services, and five Tokyo taxi companies with a combined fleet of nearly 10,000 vehicles. Through innovation including the S.RIDE app for taxi users and a system for taxi drivers that predicts demand, we're applying AI and other technologies to enable safe and secure transportation as we address issues faced by cities and by places with graying populations.

  • ＞　Interview article
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  Masatoshi Funabashi Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc. (Sony CSL)

  Creating abundant ecosystems through new agricultural methods

  Synecoculture

  

  Masatoshi Funabashi Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Inc. (Sony CSL)

  Synecoculture is an approach by Sony CSL in which ecosystems are artificially created for cultivating a rich variety of crops while also enriching local biodiversity. Proving tests conducted in Japan and sub-Saharan Africa have already yielded substantial results. We intend to harness the power of AI to understand complex ecosystems that are too difficult for the human mind alone to comprehend, and apply the findings to further initiatives.

  • ＞　Interview article
  • ＞　Sony CSL
  • ＞　Stories
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  Masaaki Isozu President
  Sony Global Education, Inc.

  Combining AI and blockchain to change social systems

  Blockchain

  

  Masaaki Isozu President
  Sony Global Education, Inc.

  Blockchain technology has drawn attention for its immense possibilities, and holds promise for accelerating innovation in Sony's businesses and services as well. The ability to safely manage, share, and circulate massive amounts of data will lead to the creation of new value.

  • ＞　Interview article
  • ＞　SGE Education Blockchain

Open Innovation
Collaborating with partners to create the future

The world Sony seeks to create with AI technology requires more than just our own efforts.
Thus, we have already begun to collaborate with technology companies, researchers, universities, and many other institutions.
We are expanding our network of like-minded colleagues with the aim of realizing a society filled with inspiration.

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  Daniela Braga Founder and CEO, DefinedCrowd Corp.

  An AI data platform for providing high-quality training data

  DefinedCrowd

  

  Daniela Braga Founder and CEO, DefinedCrowd Corp.

  DefinedCrowd is a global AI data provider that leverages machine learning technology and human intelligence to deliver high-quality training data for AI systems. Today, our services aren't limited to provide datasets, but we are also educating everyone on how to navigate through their AI journeys.

  • ＞　Interview article
  • ＞　DefinedCrowd
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  Henny Admoni Assistant Professor, Carnegie Mellon University

  Collaborating in research and development of autonomous cooking robots

  Carnegie Mellon University

  

  Henny Admoni Assistant Professor, Carnegie Mellon University

  Sony and Carnegie Mellon University are collaborating in the research and development of robots able to support humans in a kitchen by autonomously performing tasks, including chopping, cooking, and serving. This joint project, which is at the forefront of AI and robotics, is now entering its second year, and is producing a variety of research outcomes. The research will lead to the realization of enhanced quality of life in the future.

  • ＞　Interview article
  • ＞　Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University
  • ＞　Sony and Carnegie Mellon University Sign Research Agreement on Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
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  A new form of open innovation

  Sony Innovation Fund

  

  With the aim of creating a better society and future, Sony provides its expertise in support of startups capable of conceiving and acting on unique ideas that go beyond the bounds of common knowledge, rather than simply focusing on business potential.

  • ＞　Sony Innovation Fund
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  Global AI event featuring unique Sony approaches

  AI/SUM

  

  Sony took part as a platinum sponsor at AI/SUM, an international summit exploring applications of artificial intelligence ("Applied AI Summit - Where AI, Industries and Humanity Evolve Together ") at Marunouchi in Tokyo from April 22-24, 2019. Speakers from Sony discussed AI technologies that support aibo, a deep-learning development tool called Neural Network Console, and other topics. Through these talks and a panel discussion titled "Augmenting Creativity: AI x Music, AI x Robotics, AI x Gastronomy", Sony introduced wide-ranging AI initiatives and technologies. The event provided an opportunity to share Sony's own thinking that AI should not be viewed as a threat to people but instead as a resource that can augment creativity and enrich society.

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  "THE QUESTION" Sony asked at SXSW 2019

  SXSW

  

  Continuing from last year, Sony exhibited at The 2019 SXSW (South by Southwest) Conference & Festivals-the world's largest showcase of music, film, interactive media, technology, and ideas-took place in March in Austin, Texas. Sony held programs combined of discussion sessions and presentations with experiential exhibits under the theme of "Technology × Creativity" and invited wide range of experts from various fields-including former world chess champion Garry Kasparov and the father of modern AI, Jürgen Schmidhuber-to provide their unique insights to the key question, “Will technology enrich human creativity?”

Yoko Arisaka Legal, Compliance & Privacy Dept,
Sony Corporation

Defining Sony's stance in relation to AI initiatives and promoting dialogue

Sony Group AI Ethics Guidelines

Yoko Arisaka Legal, Compliance & Privacy Dept,
Sony Corporation

As a global company engaged in a wide range of businesses, Sony has formulated Sony group AI Ethics Guidelines based on Sony's Purpose “Fill the world with emotion, through the power of creativity and technology”. Through the utilization of AI, Sony seeks to contribute to the development of a peaceful and sustainable society while aiming to provide a sense of excitement, wonder or emotion to the world, and we wish to promote dialogue concerning the ideal direction for AI.

• ＞　Interview article
• ＞　Sony Group AI Ethics Guidelines (PDF)