December 24, 2025
Sylff Association Secretariat office will be closed for the year end and New Year holidays from December 27, 2025 to January 4, 2026. We will resume our operations on January 5.
We wish all of you a peaceful new year.
December 11, 2025
As 2025 draws to a close, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to all members of the Sylff community for your continued commitment to the ideals and operations of our program.
This year, we were delighted to welcome many fellows and administrators to our new office following our move to the Sasakawa Peace Foundation Building in the spring. Guests visited us from UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, the University of Chile, INSEAD, Comenius University, Deusto University, the University of Helsinki, the Fletcher School, the University of Texas at Austin, Jadavpur University, Canterbury University, and Jilin University.
In addition, members of the Sylff Association secretariat traveled to meet with university officials, SSC members, and fellows at the University of São Paulo, Princeton University, Columbia University, the Juilliard School, Paris Conservatoire, INSEAD, the University of Jordan, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the University of Indonesia, Gadjah Mada University, Chiang Mai University, Universiti Malaya, Jadavpur University, Waseda University, Jagiellonian University, the University of Latvia, and Keio University.
These visits provided valuable opportunities to catch up on Sylff program operations at each institution and to connect with both current and graduated fellows.
This year also saw the introduction of new application procedures for the Association’s two support programs. Both Sylff Research Grant (SRG) and Sylff Leadership Initiatives (SLI) now follow unified timeline: calls for applications are announced in April, and applicants are notified of selection outcomes in September. The SRG award amount was increased to a maximum of USD 10,000 for international fieldwork, and efforts were made to enhance fairness in the SLI selection process by enlisting former SLI recipients as peer reviewers.
Follow the links below for news regarding these and other Sylff community activities over the past year. We wish you a joyful and peaceful holiday season and look forward to working with you in the coming year to advance the Sylff mission of developing leaders who bring about positive change in global society and the local community.
Please note that our office will be closed from December 27 to January 4.
Sylff＠Tokyo
Apr 14
Sylff@Tokyo: First Visitors to Our New Office
April 17
Sylff@Tokyo: UC San Diego Fellow Committed to Advancing Economic Betterment for All
May 1
Sylff@Tokyo: Advocating for a More Holistic Approach to Maternal Care
May 12
Sylff@Tokyo: INSEAD Strengthening Ties with Japan through Its Alumni
May 20
Sylff@Tokyo: Comenius University Strengthening Global Ties through International Outreach
May 20
Sylff@Tokyo: A Surprise Visit from a Fellow-Turned-Basque-Minister
Jun 5
Sylff@Tokyo: Deepening Sylff Ties with the University of Helsinki
Jul 10
Fletcher Cyber Expert Discusses Bilateral Security Issues during Japan Visit: Sylff@Tokyo
Aug 20
U of Texas Fellow’s Summer of Sustainable Impact: Sylff@Tokyo
Sep 29
Jadavpur Fellow Examining Policy Paths to Sustainability: Sylff@Tokyo
Oct 14
Impact through Empathy in Redressing Medical Harm: Sylff@Tokyo
Support Programs
Feb 12
Announcement: Updates to Sylff Support Programs in 2025
Feb 17
Sylff Research Grant (SRG) Recipients for Fiscal 2024
April 4
Applications for SRG and SLI in Fiscal 2025 to Open in May
Meetings with Fellows and Administrators
April 14
Event Held in Tokyo for Japanese Translation of Sofia Fellow’s Book
Jun 5
Norwegian Foreign Minister Expresses Gratitude for Sylff Fellowship
Jun 19
Chairman Sasakawa Meets with Sussex Fellow During Albania Visit
Sep 8
Sounds of Hope: A Musical Journey from War-Torn Syria to Global Acclaim
Nov 19
Jilin University Delegation Visits Sylff Association Chairman Sasakawa
Across the Sylff Community
Dec 24, 2024
100th Anniversary of Rhapsody in Blue: Juilliard Dean, Fellow Interviewed by NYC Local Media
Feb 13
Invitation to Join the Nippon Foundation Scholars Association (TNFSA)
April 1
A New Start for the Tokyo Foundation
Oct 2
From Gadjah Mada Sylff Fellow to Academic Leadership
Dec 10
Coimbra Fellow Amit Singh Awarded 2025 Nordic Mela Peace Award
December 10, 2025
Amit Singh, left, receiving the award certificate from Professor Mirza Tasduq Baig and Talat Bhatt in Malmo, Sweden, in May 2025.
Amit Singh (University of Coimbra, 2020–21) has been awarded the Nordic Mela Peace Award 2025 in recognition of his significant contribution to the promotion of human rights, democracy, and intercommunal harmony in South Asia.
In presenting the award, the Swedish organization Mela Nordic cited Singh’s “outstanding commitment and dedication to the promotion of peace and social cohesion, human rights and freedom for all, as well as his efforts in defending freedom of expression and strengthening democratic values in the South Asian region.”
Singh, a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, was a recipient of an SRG award in 2024, which he used to complete his post-doctoral project on “Hindu Populism against Religious Minorities and Resistance: Case Study of Varanasi.” The findings of the research and fieldwork, conducted mostly in India and Portugal, were presented at international conferences and academic lectures (including at Comenius University in Slovakia and the University of the Philippines in Manila) and published in the Journal of Dialogue Studies.
“This Peace Award acknowledges that issues such as human rights, democracy, peace, academic freedom, and freedom of expression and religion are under threat from India’s authoritarian Hindutva government,” Singh commented. “Receiving this award has boosted my confidence in my struggle against the anti-democratic, far-right populist regime in South Asia.
“This award would not have been possible without the help of Professor Dipak Malik, Dr. Bruno Sena Martins, Margie Gianan Singh, and organizations such as the Sylff Association in Japan and Mela Nordic in Sweden,” he added. “I hope to continue this pursuit so that we can live in a world that is inclusive, fair, and just for all, now and in the future.”
November 19, 2025
On November 10, 2025, a delegation from Jilin University, led by Professor and Executive Vice President Cai Lidong, paid a courtesy visit to Sylff Association Chairman Yohei Sasakawa.
Jilin University joined the Sylff community in 1992 and has produced more than 1,200 Sylff fellows to date. Professor Cai and Chairman Sasakawa reflected warmly on Jilin University’s longstanding ties with the Nippon Foundation and the Tokyo Foundation, and the two expressed hope for even deeper collaboration in the years ahead.
Professor Cai noted that he had long wished to visit Japan, as he was unable to attend the Sylff Administrators Meeting with five Chinese Sylff institutions at the Tokyo Foundation in 2024. He expressed his delight that the visit had finally materialized.
He also conveyed his gratitude for the enduring partnership and stated that Jilin University remains committed to actively supporting initiatives that foster the development of future leaders.
Sylff Association Chairman Yohei Sasakawa, left, and Jilin University Professor Cai Lidong.
October 14, 2025
On October 6, the Sylff Association secretariat had the pleasure of welcoming Jennifer Schulz (formerly Moore), who received a Sylff fellowship in 2000 while working toward a master’s in health sociology at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. Now an associate professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia, she blends expertise in health social sciences, law and public health medicine to advocate for more compassionate and effective responses to medical injuries.
Schulz was visiting Japan to pursue a collaborative partnership with Kobe University, an outgrowth of a presentation she gave at a conference in the city last year.
“Medical injury is the third leading cause of death in the United States and the second in Australia,” Schulz explained. “It could be a surgical accident or an overdose. A lot of different things can go wrong, even in general practice.”
Her work focuses on helping patients who suffer medical harm, but injured patients often report that litigation can be traumatic, slow, expensive, and does not meet their needs. “The court system often makes them feel even worse.”
Legal cases can also turn health practitioners into “second victims” of harm events, Schulz says. “Having to go to court can be very traumatic for the doctors, too. They didn’t mean to hurt the patient, and they might want to say sorry, but in the courtroom that may be perceived as an admission of fault, despite apology protection laws.”
To address these challenges, Schulz promotes the Communication and Resolution Program—an alternative, no-fault process that allows hospitals to disclose medical injuries, investigate and explain what happened, apologize, and offer compensation when warranted. CRP is a framework for responding to unintentional patient harm by promoting open, honest, and empathetic communication, shifting the focus from the traditional “deny and defend” approach to a patient-centered model aimed at improving patient safety.
In a recent journal article, Schulz documented the story of a young patient who was injured in a hospital when she was just 15. “It was an overdose, and she almost died. Her mental health deteriorated, she stopped going to school, and she had suicidal thoughts. It was very sad.”
Schulz had interviewed her for research on improving resolution after medical injury—conducted with the help of a Sylff Leadership Initiatives grant (2018–19). “I’ve kept in touch with her, and she’s participated in four studies with me. Now she’s graduated from university, and guess what she is? A physician’s assistant. She wants to help other people going through a similar experience.”
Schulz’s work is an excellent example of research leading not just to new academic insights but to real life impact, making a tangible difference in people’s lives. She worked for the New Zealand government as a legal and policy adviser in 2011–12, undertaking a socio-legal study on coroners’ recommendations across several countries, collecting data and conducting more than 100 interviews with over 40 respondents.
Her findings were published in a landmark 2016 book that revealed a need for stronger mechanisms to translate coronial recommendations into population-level mortality prevention. This prompted legislative changes, driven not by statistics alone but by the powerful personal testimonies of those interviewed.
“Politicians didn’t actually care about the numbers. It was only after they learned of the patients’ stories that they said, ‘We have to change the law.’”
Schulz’s next project is to examine medical harm resulting from the use of artificial intelligence—a timely and under-researched area. “AI is being used by doctors in New Zealand to take notes during consultations. But mistakes by these AI scribes have already led to physical harm.” Robotic-assisted surgery is another domain where AI-related harm could emerge. “The technology is exciting, but we need to understand its risks and build safeguards.”
“I left academia to work in government for a while, but my passion is in teaching and working with young minds,” Schulz maintains. In 2018, her students selected her for the Inspiring Teacher Award, given to the best instructor in a first year UNSW undergraduate program. They called her a “phenomenal teacher” with “endless enthusiasm and passion that she brings to each lesson” and a “perfect mentor” who influenced their study direction.
Schulz laments the global trend toward reduced spending on many programs in the humanities. “Quantitative, scientific research is like the skeleton, but the humanities are the flesh,” she explained. “They are foundational, helping us understand what the numbers mean to people.”
Even as her daughter dreams of becoming a scientist, Schulz hopes she will also embrace the humanities—an education that fosters empathy and critical thinking.
Jennifer Schulz’s visit was a reminder of how research rooted in empathy can drive meaningful change. Her work not only advances academic understanding but also transforms lives—helping patients heal, guiding policy reform, and inspiring future generations. The Sylff Association secretariat is honored to support her work and looks forward to the continued ripple effects of her leadership. (Compiled by Nozomu Kawamoto)
October 2, 2025
On September 8, 2025, at Samantha Krida Hall, Universitas Brawijaya, Indonesia, the rector, Professor Widodo, inaugurated A. Faidlal Rahman as vice dean for academic affairs of the Faculty of Vocational Studies. The ceremony was conducted in a solemn atmosphere and attended by senior university officials.
At the inauguration ceremony, A. Faidlal Rahman signs the official document certifying his appointment as vice dean for academic affairs in the Faculty of Vocational Studies, as the rector, right, and other professors look on.
Rahman received his Sylff fellowship from Gadjah Mada University in 2008 and 2009 while working toward an MSc in tourism studies. He holds a bachelor’s degree in tourism economics and completed his doctoral degree at the Faculty of Tourism, Universitas Udayana, Bali. He is also a Certified Hospitality Educator (CHE).
In his new capacity, he will be responsible for advancing vocational education at Universitas Brawijaya by shaping academic policies; designing curricula that respond to the evolving needs of industry, business, and the workforce; as well as elevating the quality of teaching, research, and scholarly publications.
He is also tasked with strengthening the contribution of lecturers and students to the university’s tridharma—teaching, research, and community service—ensuring that the Faculty of Vocational Studies consistently produces graduates who are skilled, adaptive, and globally competitive.
As vice dean, he will give priority to accelerating the faculty’s internationalization through deeper engagement with overseas universities and stronger collaboration with global industries. The faculty aims to broaden opportunities for joint research, enrich its curriculum with international perspectives, provide access to internships abroad, and expand academic exchange programs for both faculty members and students.
Rahman hopes to leverage the Sylff network of prominent professionals at leading institutions as a platform for building meaningful international collaboration. He envisions creating long-term partnerships with universities and industries worldwide, not only strengthening the faculty’s role as a leading provider of vocational education in Indonesia but also promoting its evolution into an internationally recognized center of educational excellence.
September 29, 2025
On September 19, 2025, the Sylff Association secretariat was pleased to welcome Shyamasree Dasgupta, a Sylff fellow at Jadavpur University, during her visit to Japan for the annual Balaton Group Meeting—an international gathering of leading sustainability experts.
The secretariat had met Dasgupta on several occasions at Jadavpur University, but this marked her first visit to Japan. The Balaton Group—also convening in Japan for the first time—held its meeting from September 21 to 26 in the picturesque highland town of Kiyosato, northwest of Tokyo. The theme of this year’s discussion was “A Changing Climate for Disaster Risk Reduction.”
Dasgupta was selected as a Donella Meadows fellow by the Balaton Group in 2012. She also currently serves as an associate professor in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Mandi, India, where her research focuses on energy economics and climate change. “I look into industrial energy use, particularly in India, and how industries respond to different sustainability policies introduced by the government.” In addition, she explores climate change adaptation and the strengthening of socioeconomic pillars to create resilience against climate change.
Located in the Himalayan region, Mandi is part of a prestigious network of 23 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) established to foster scientific and technical education and advanced research. “The schools in the IIT system believe that you can’t work in silos. That’s why we don’t have a separate Department of Sociology, History, or Economics. We collaborate across disciplines to address complex challenges.”
One of her major interdisciplinary projects investigates the wide use of biomass as cooking fuel in India, which has been linked to indoor air pollution and health risks, especially for women and children. “We want to understand why people choose biomass, assess the health effects, and estimate the cost of mitigating the problem.”
Dasgupta credits her Sylff fellowship at Jadavpur—awarded during her MPhil studies in 2009 and again from 2011 to 2014 while working for her PhD—with providing a very strong grounding in interdisciplinary research.
“The Sylff program at Jadavpur is very open in nature and is an excellent platform for interaction. It’s also very rigorous and serious business for the fellows. We’re required to attend Progress Review Workshops every three months and make presentations in front of our mentors. If five people were giving presentations, then there’ll be five professors from different disciplines, and everybody will comment on your work. This feedback from many different angles was really helpful.”
She added, “It was very intense, but it prepared us well for our subsequent careers. We get the emails of all new fellows, and we still keep in touch with each other. The Sylff network at Jadavpur remains very strong.”
The Sylff Association secretariat is proud of Dasgupta’s ongoing contributions to sustainability in India and beyond. We warmly welcome all fellows and steering committee members to visit us during their time in Tokyo. (Compiled by Nozomu Kawamoto)
September 8, 2025
In the world of classical music, few institutions carry the weight of history and prestige like the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris. Alongside the Juilliard School in New York and the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, it stands as one of the world’s most revered music schools—an elite training ground for generations of top artists.
Founded in 1795 during the French Revolution, the Conservatoire de Paris traces its roots back to 1669, when Louis XIV established the Royal Academy of Music. Originally housed in the Palace of Versailles as a school for vocal and dramatic arts, it has since become one of the most respected institutions for higher music education. With alumni like Claude Debussy and Georges Bizet, it has served as a model for music academies around the world.
On a spring afternoon in Paris, the Conservatoire’s campus in La Villette Park was filled with the energy of young musicians from around the world. Among them was Bilal Alnemr, a Syrian-born violinist whose path to the Conservatoire has been nothing short of extraordinary.
Alnemr received a Sylff fellowship in 2019 and 2020 while working toward a master’s degree in classical instrumental music. But his journey began far from the concert halls of Europe—in the war-ravaged streets of Damascus.
“It’s been a series of miracles,” Alnemr says, reflecting on the path that brought him here.
Alnemr’s earliest memory of music is a toy violin, gifted to him as a baby by his father, a passionate lover of music. The toy did not produce any sound, but the young boy’s relentless attempts to make it sing revealed a spark of talent. Noticing this, his father spent three months’ worth of the family’s living expenses to buy a real violin for his three-year-old son.
From that moment, music became Alnemr’s world. While other children played outside, he practiced in the basement of a local music school. At night, his father climbed onto the roof to adjust their satellite dish, tuning into French classical broadcasts at a time when access to international broadcast was prohibited by the Assad regime. He recorded the music onto DVDs, which became Bilal’s teachers.
In 2007, at age 11, Alnemr won Syria’s national competition for young musicians. His prize: a blue Sony Walkman. “That’s why I feel a special connection to Japan,” he says with a smile.
Alnemr’s talent quickly gained recognition. After winning Syria’s Solhi Al-Wadi International Competition, he began performing across the Middle East and beyond—in India, Russia, Qatar, Jordan, and Lebanon.
Then, in 2010, a French music teacher offered him a life-changing opportunity: admission to the Darius Milhaud Conservatory of Music in Aix-en-Provence. At just 13, Alnemr left Syria alone to pursue his dream.
But within a year, the Arab Spring ignited a brutal civil war in Syria. Alnemr was stranded in France, unable to return home or see his family. He practiced relentlessly, often from early morning until evening, driven by both ambition and heartbreak.
His dedication paid off, as he was unanimously accepted into the Conservatoire de Paris in 2013. A year later, he was named solo violinist for the Mediterranean Youth Orchestra. His performances caught the attention of renowned French violinist Renaud Capuçon, and Alnemr began winning international competitions.
In 2021, with the help of a Sylff fellowship, he earned his master’s degree from the Conservatoire, cementing his place among the world’s rising stars.
Alnemr’s artistry is matched by his humanitarian vision. In 2019, he joined the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, founded by conductor Daniel Barenboim and scholar Edward Said to unite young musicians from Israel and Arab states. The orchestra, which performed in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Ramallah and was honored by Japan’s Praemium Imperiale international art prize, stands as a symbol of coexistence through music.
That same year, Alnemr performed alongside legendary opera singer and human rights activist Barbara Hendricks at a UNHCR concert in Geneva, supporting education for Syrian refugee children in Lebanon.
In 2021, after collaborations with Barenboim, Capuçon, and pianist Hélène Grimaud, Alnemr was officially recognized by the French government for his cultural contributions and granted French citizenship.
In 2016, five years after the war began, Alnemr was finally reunited with his family. His parents and sister arrived in the idyllic village of Vauvenargues near Aix-en-Provence carrying only two suitcases. The village, nestled beneath Mont Sainte-Victoire—immortalized by Cézanne and home to Picasso’s tomb—became their sanctuary.
To thank the community, Alnemr held a classical concert there in July 2022. The music of Beethoven and Mendelssohn echoed through the village’s cobbled streets, a tribute to resilience and gratitude.
“I’m deeply grateful to Japan and the Tokyo Foundation,” he says. “I’ll never forget the support I received.”
Though the Assad regime collapsed in December 2024, Syria remains unstable, plagued by violence, factional conflict, and humanitarian crisis. In response, Alnemr co-founded a nonprofit in Switzerland to promote musical exchange between Syria and the international community.
“As a ‘citizen musician,’ I want to help bring peace and stability to my homeland,” he says.
From a silent toy violin in Damascus to standing ovations in Europe’s grandest halls, Bilal Alnemr’s story is a testament to the power of music—and the human spirit. (Compiled by Noburu Okabe)
Translated from an article originally published on the Tokyo Foundation’s Japanese website
August 20, 2025
Indonesia faces serious water-related challenges, with contaminated drinking water contributing to the deaths of over 10% of children under five due to diarrheal diseases. The situation is especially dire in Bali, where untreated sewage, household and business waste, and massive amounts of plastic pollution severely degrade water quality in rivers and coastal waters.
A promising solution is emerging from Terra Water Indonesia, a mission-driven startup producing high-quality water filters made entirely from natural and locally sourced materials. These filters not only eliminate the need for plastic water bottles but also provide safe water to vulnerable households.
Cody Steverson, a graduate research assistant at the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business, spent two months interning at Terra with the help of a Sylff fellowship. On August 7, 2025, he visited the Sylff Association secretariat in Tokyo on his way back to campus for the fall semester.
“Many people think of Bali as a paradise, but it’s grappling with a massive water problem,” Steverson explains. “Most people rely on plastic bottles that have sitting in the heat all day or boil water before drinking, which wastes a lot of energy.”
Terra’s affordable and highly effective pot filters, made from clay, activated carbon, and colloidal silver allow users to purify water from almost any freshwater source—taps, wells, rivers, rainwater, or even rice paddies.
“For a typical Indonesian family that usually buys bottled water, the lower end models would pay for themselves in just two months,” Steverson notes.
Despite the product’s effectiveness, Terra faced a major hurdle: lack of awareness. “People didn’t know we existed. They’d never seen anything like our filters before.”
Launched in 2020, the Bali-based startup operates with a hybrid business model blending nonprofit and for-profit strategies. It collaborates with a network of organizations to identify and deliver filters to families in need.
“Businesses partnering with us would purchase, say, twenty water filters, which we would then distribute to local villages,” Steverson explains. “We basically waited for sales to come to us.” The filters have been rigorously tested by multiple universities and the Indonesian Ministry of Health, proving to be highly effective in eliminating waterborne diseases. However, this success had not been clearly communicated to the public.
To address this, Steverson focused on building strategic partnerships with local entities that already had strong credibility. “I negotiated with a Michelin-star restaurant and got them to start using our filters. The chef is now a huge fan of Terra, and this should bring a lot of brand awareness and open a brand-new market.”
He also partnered with a hotel that now highlights the filters as part of its sustainability efforts, and he reached out to the Makadaya Foundation—a major Indonesian startup accelerator with whom Terra did not have a relationship—which agreed to purchase eight filters.
At the end of his two-month internship, Steverson represented Terra at a TEDx event in Jakarta. “I was able to meet a lot of people there who were curious about the filters—and also about the only American in the room,” he recalls. “Everybody’s aware of the water problem, but no one had a viable solution. It was incredibly rewarding to know that I was able to make impact and help raise awareness.”
Beyond strengthening Terra’s ties with local businesses—many of which are foreign-owned—Steverson also laid the groundwork for future collaboration between sustainability-focused startups in Bali and internationally minded students at the University of Texas.
His experience as the sole non-Indonesian staff member at Terra Water Indonesia highlights his commitment to social impact through collaboration. The Sylff Association secretariat applauds his dedication to earth-friendly, human-centered solutions and wishes him continued success in his future endeavors. (Compiled by Nozomu Kawamoto)
July 10, 2025
On June 27, the Sylff Association secretariat had the pleasure of hosting Josephine Wolff from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where she holds multiple roles: associate professor of cybersecurity policy, associate professor of computer science and engineering, and director of the Hitachi Center for Technology and International Affairs.
A leading expert in both computer science and technology policy, Wolff was visiting Japan to engage with cybersecurity professionals—meeting with defense officials at the National Institute for Defense Studies, holding discussions with specialists at the University of Tokyo, and reconnecting with many Fletcher alumni.
“Japan is one of our biggest sources of international students,” Wolff noted, “and I’ve spent the week visiting our former students who’re now working in the Japanese government and industry.”
Fletcher offers an interdisciplinary program that equips students with both technological literacy and a strong foundation in public policy—skills that are increasingly vital in combating cybercrime. Wolff highlighted that several Japanese alumni of the program are now spearheading a police task force focused on online scams targeting the elderly and other types of financial fraud.
Cyberattacks with significant social impact are rapidly becoming a national security concern for governments worldwide. “Online fraud isn’t just about theft,” she explained. “Sometimes, money is being stolen to fund programs like North Korea’s weapons development. Ransomware has also been linked to financing hostile states, posing threats to the entire system of economic statecraft.”
Wolff cautions, though, against framing such incidents in overly militaristic terms. “Using language like ‘gray war’ can escalate a situation unnecessarily. Once you label something as war, it demands a very specific set of responses. My interest is in getting away from that language and focusing on what would be a more proportional response.”
She argues, for instance, that Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election would fall short of acts of war. “That doesn’t mean it’s not serious or that we don’t need to respond to it. But if the threat is about manipulating people’s ideas, we don’t need to involve the armed forces.” Instead, she says, efforts should be made to enhance media literacy, provide tools for online safety, and seek accountability from the big platforms.
There are operations, however, that feel closer to a prelude to war. “The main threat from China is not influence operations,” she emphasizes. “We’re more worried about potential attacks on critical infrastructure, and this calls for a very different set of protections.”
A military response would be considered only in the event of a truly severe incident, however. “If all the power in the United States were shut down, we would regard that as an act of war. But we’re not going to start dropping bombs if a website gets defaced.”
There can be many possible responses if a pipeline is shut off or the water supply is disrupted, including economic sanctions. “But this is a very challenging area for policymakers, because nobody is really clear on where the threshold is.”
As the internet of things continues to expand, Wolff warns of the growing risk of cyberattacks affecting physical systems. “With more devices connected and decisions outsourced to artificial intelligence, attacks could affect not just your laptop or phone; cars and ships might crash due to tampered navigation systems. This goes beyond the typical scope of ransomware.”
Despite these concerns, Wolff remains cautiously optimistic. “We should take some comfort in the fact that we haven’t yet seen the catastrophic cybercrimes we often fear. We’ve watched Russia fight a war for years now without being able to shut down Ukraine’s power grid. Honestly, I think Russia would have done so by now if they could, so that’s not a small victory.”
The Sylff Association secretariat deeply appreciates Wolff’s visit and is encouraged by the high level of expertise within the Sylff community—not only in advanced technology but also in shaping effective public policy. We look forward to welcoming more fellows and other visitors from Sylff institutions in the future. (Compiled by Nozomu Kawamoto)
