The Fifth Generation Fallacy: Why Japan Is Betting Its Future on Artificial Intelligence

Contents

• Introduction

1. Linguistics and Orthography
   • Current Writing Practice in Japan
     • Kana and Romanization
       • Hepburn romanization
       • Cabinet romanization
       • Hiragana and Katakana
     • Page Layout
       • Direction of Writing
       • Punctuation, Numerals, Foreign Letters
       • Furigana
     • Kanji
       • Form
       • Function
       • Identification
       • The Ideographic Myth
   • Practical Consequences of a Large Character Set
     • Alphabetization
     • The Book Trade
     • Typing and Computer Input
     • Data Processing
       • Output
       • Coding Kanji
       • Software
2. Politics and Culture
   • The Price of Tradition sample chapter
     • Kanji and Literacy
       • Prewar Literacy
       • After 1945
     • Political Maneuvering
     • Confusing Language with Writing
     • Cultural Independence
   • A Conflict of Technologies
     • Kanji and AI
     • Can Intelligence Be Artificial?
     • Kanji as Counterexample
     • The Risk of Waiting
     • Three Contradictions
3. Economics and Technology
   • The Importance of Efficient Input
     • Inscriptive Input
     • Transcriptive Input
       • Special Keyboards
       • Checking the Text
     • Descriptive Input
       • Tablets
       • Mnemonics
     • Alternative Approaches
       • Patternless Keyboards
       • Romanization
     • Costs
   • The Fifth Generation Project
     • Concern over Kanji
     • Productivity Crises
     • Misunderstandings
       • Japanese AI
       • Nontechnical Matters
     • Where Is the Project Today?

• Epilogue
• Notes
• Glossary
• References
• Index