In his keynote address, Hitachi President Tokunaga Toshiaki (徳永俊昭) declared the beginning of the “physical AI era” and discussed the realization of autonomously evolving digital infrastructure that connects frontline operations with social infrastructure. He called for a Japan-led challenge to change the future.
On 3 September, Hitachi, Ltd. President and CEO Tokunaga Toshiaki (徳永俊昭) explained in his keynote address at Hitachi Social Innovation Forum 2026 JAPAN that physical AI would become autonomously evolving digital infrastructure that monitors the condition of social infrastructure and advances its operation. Referring to an estimate that the labor shortage at frontline operations would reach the equivalent of 11 million workers in 2040, he stressed the importance of physical AI as a key to resolving the contradictions facing frontline operations, where the number of people supporting them will not increase.
He organized the introduction of physical AI around “a four-stage path to implementing physical AI in the real world”: learning about the real world, testing in a digital twin, learning on-site rules, and putting them into practice on-site. Hitachi explained that it would focus on stages 3–4, indicating that the company could deliver value by supporting frontline operations through IT, OT, and products.
He introduced the transition to Lumada 3.0, which incorporates AI through Lumada, the company’s integrated business model. Hitachi also expanded HMAX, its suite of AI-powered services, beyond its initial focus on railway infrastructure, announcing 4 new services—Data Center, Cyber, Data Fabric, and AI Operations—aimed at automating data center operations and optimizing them as a whole.
As it advances the implementation of physical AI at frontline operations, Hitachi emphasized the integration of 3 domains and optimization of operations as a whole, once again calling for Japan to change society. At the close of the keynote address, it issued a forceful call: “Let’s start now, together with Hitachi.”