On August 5, the corporate sponsored research program “Information Economics for AI Solutions” of the University of Tokyo, Japan’s top university, hosted a competitive AI programming contest titled “The Aspirations of the Byzantine Empire.” Players in this AI programming contest compete using a game called “Pommerman,” which was inspired by Bomberman.

The University of Tokyo’s corporate sponsored research program “Information Economics for AI Solutions” is an open lecture offered in cooperation with Monex Group, Japan’s leading online brokerage, from September 2019. Monex Group converted Japan’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, Coincheck, Inc. into a wholly-owned subsidiary last year. The company is also contemplating expanding its cryptocurrency business to the United States.

The program’s website explains AI solutions as solutions that are generated by integrating AI technologies, which include machine learning and deep learning, with ICTs, which include cloud services, blockchain, IoT, and mobile technologies. The website points out a shortage of engineers who engage in the development and application of AI and blockchain. The program aims to develop those engineers by holding events such as this one.

*This article was written by Fisco