Takagi Laboratory

Department of Computer Science
School of Informatics
Nagoya Institute of Technology
Intelligent Information Systems

The Takagi Laboratory is a newly established research group founded in 2025. Our research aims to uncover the interface between human intellectual activities and rapidly advancing machine learning models.

Humans constantly engage—often unconsciously—in acts of “thinking” and “feeling.” To what extent can computers reproduce and even extend these processes? Addressing this question requires a simultaneous exploration of the internal mechanisms of state-of-the-art foundation models and the information-processing principles generated by human brain activity.

In this sense, our research seeks to elucidate human cognition through a deep understanding of machine learning models, while at the same time leveraging the rich dynamics of the brain to guide machine learning toward a new stage of development. Just as humanity has long pursued the mysteries of the universe and life itself, we aim to gradually unravel the mysteries of intelligence and learning.

Specifically, our research topics include:

• Analysis of internal representations in large language models and diffusion models
• Brain information analysis using fMRI, EEG, and physiological sensing data
• Model interpretation and causal validation based on cognitive theories
• Dialogue and creative-support systems for human–AI collaboration
• Robotic systems that flexibly understand human intentions

Through these themes, we develop mathematical models and analytical methods that bridge machine learning and systems neuroscience. We place particular emphasis on the visualization and interpretability of machine learning models, promoting interdisciplinary research that spans linguistics, neuroscience, and information science to decode the “inner thoughts” of both humans and machines.

We are actively seeking master’s and doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers, and industry researchers to join collaborative projects. The laboratory emphasizes a flat and open organizational structure and provides an environment that fosters active discussion with researchers from universities, companies, and research institutes both in Japan and abroad.

Scholarships and research assistant positions are available, and members have access to cutting-edge GPU clusters and biosignal measurement equipment, including brain-imaging and physiological sensing systems, enabling the realization of ambitious and innovative ideas.

If you are interested in research that integrates human intelligence and machine learning to create new forms of intelligence, please feel free to contact us.