The Center for Digital Humanities and Computational Social Sciences was born with a very challenging mission to usher in a new era of education and research based on the convergence between digital technology with humanities and social sciences. Many might wonder why the Center was established in KAIST, a school mainly focused in science and technology, that leads Korea’s education and research while striving to become a top institution in the world.

The first reason is that it is now more important than ever to develop and nurture professionals in convergence science and research who fully understand people and our societies and contribute to the development of human-friendly science and technology. Deep and interdisciplinary thinking and experiences are necessary to resolve the universal issues faced by mankind, such as the development of fair and safe artificial intelligence, as well as to solve a wider spectrum of challenges, including the more trivial task of creating competitive cultural content.

The second reason is due to our belief that KAIST, based on its strong knowledge and experience foundation in science and technology, will contribute to the reform of humanities and social sciences demanded in our time of digital transformation. It is our wish that the Center will play a pivotal role in leading the paradigm shift in research of humanities and social sciences by ensuring effective convergence with digital technology and to support experts in humanities and social sciences to create new values.

The co-evolution of people and technology is a mission of our times and one of the biggest topics the world should focus on. While convergence may become more challenging as distances increase between disciplines, its success is imperative to allow us to go beyond the achievements of each individual study and our imagination. With the spirit to challenge and innovate as our DNA at KAIST, the launch of the Center may appear as yet another experiment. Nonetheless, it is an extreme experiment in the perspectives of convergence research and education, which may not offer us a smooth journey.

There is a saying that goes “if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” Just as our Center has triggered the launch of the Graduate School of Digital Humanities and Computational Social Sciences at KAIST, we hope that our activities will help the education and research of other universities in Korea, which will allow us to walk down the path of convergence together. With more Scop’s owls calling together, more chrysanthemum flowers will bloom.