Winning First Place in International AI Competitions: Top Engineers Discuss the Future of Dentsu Group × AI (Part 1)
In May 2022, AI engineers Ryuichi Ishikawa and Hideki Murata from Dentsu Digital Inc. Advanced Creative Center (ACRC) won first place out of 1,471 teams in the "NBME - Score Clinical Patient Notes" competition held on the international AI competition platform "Kaggle".
With this gold medal win, Murata earned the title of "Kaggle Grandmaster," Kaggle's highest rank. Only about 250 engineers worldwide and approximately 30 in Japan hold this rank (as of May 18, 2022). Dentsu Digital Inc. now employs both Murata, a "Kaggle Grandmaster," and Ishikawa, a "Kaggle Master."
In Transformation SHOWCASE, we interviewed him about how he applies his world-class AI engineering skills to his work. In this first part of a two-part series, we asked about his AI competitions and how he became an AI engineer.
Leveraging each other's strengths to achieve results and demonstrate their serious commitment to AI development
Q. You both won first place in the international AI competition "Kaggle" for the "NBME - Score Clinical Patient Notes" challenge. What exactly is this challenge?
Ishikawa: "Kaggle" is a competition platform where participants solve problems commissioned by companies or government agencies using AI. The "NBME - Score Clinical Patient Notes" challenge specifically aimed to automate the grading of medical records written by examinees for the US medical licensing exam. Teams competed to create AI that could identify key terms within these records and demonstrate its accuracy.
Q. You two have won gold medals on Kaggle multiple times. Do you always compete as a pair? What kind of person allows you to perform at your best? What are the key points for team formation?
Ishikawa: In my case, I sometimes enter competitions solo, and other times I team up with Murata. The key point when teaming up with Murata is clearly dividing roles based on our respective strengths. I excel at the initial phase of building AI, researching questions like "What kind of AI should we use?" and "What methods should we try?" Improving the AI's accuracy from there is Murata's specialty. In this competition too, I started by experimenting on my own, and once we had a solid direction, Murata rapidly boosted the accuracy, leading us to victory.
Murata: While Kaggle allows teams of up to five members, assembling five people with identical skills is meaningless. I believe a strong team forms when each member excels in different specialized areas. Ishikawa and I have distinct strengths, and it's precisely because we leverage each other's expertise that we achieve results.
Q. Having outstanding AI engineers like yourselves certainly contributes to Dentsu Digital Inc.'s reputation. Is participating in Kaggle competitions also driven by a desire to showcase your technical capabilities externally?
Ishikawa: That aspect certainly exists, but another reason might be more significant. The Dentsu Group still carries a strong image as an advertising company, so many people still react with confusion: "Dentsu Inc. doing AI development? What for?" By achieving results in competitions, we want people to recognize that the Dentsu Group is seriously engaged in AI development. Also, AI technology advances extremely rapidly. If you don't constantly read the latest papers and keep up with information, you'll be left behind. Participating in competitions also serves to ensure a learning environment and to continuously update ourselves.
Seeking creative AI development, joining Dentsu Digital Inc. from diverse industries
Q. What kind of work were you both doing before joining Dentsu Digital Inc.? What expectations did you have when you joined?
Ishikawa: My background is a bit unconventional. After working as a musician, I became an artist manager at a record label. I later left the music industry, but I found myself wanting to do something that could change the world. That's when I saw the potential in AI. I was searching for a company where I could use AI for creative expression, and Dentsu Digital Inc. emerged as a candidate. It also happened to be around the time Dentsu Digital Inc. was being launched. I felt this was the place where I could achieve the kind of expression I was aiming for, so I joined.
Murata: In my case, I was a civil servant before. After starting to study AI and winning gold medals several times on Kaggle, I started thinking, "It's about time I joined a company involved in data science and AI." That's when Ishikawa invited me to Dentsu Digital Inc. I had no idea Dentsu Digital Inc. was developing AI, but I heard I could do interesting, creative work that other AI companies couldn't offer, so I decided to join.
Q. So both of you transitioned from completely different fields. But even if you think "AI is the future," becoming an AI engineer isn't that simple. Is it something you can just decide to try and start right away?
Ishikawa: I've always loved computers and started programming when I was young. Plus, I'm a huge fan of shogi. Remember when the world was buzzing about AI defeating professional shogi players? Seeing that made me think the era was about to change dramatically. I wasn't averse to math either, so I wanted to challenge myself with AI development and chose this path.
Murata: I had almost no programming experience, but I'm naturally an optimistic person. I'm the type who, when I try something I'm interested in, often finds it surprisingly easy. I started studying AI after finishing my daytime job as a civil servant, and I just clicked with it.
Q. Was Dentsu Digital Inc. the kind of environment where you could realize the AI × creative synergy you envisioned?
Ishikawa: I definitely feel it was. We won advertising awards for projects like " TEHAI " (a creative project using AI to age past photos of wanted suspects and predict their current appearance) and " The Sea Exhibition: 'Made into a Masterpiece'" (an exhibition using AI art to express the problem of ocean pollution from plastic waste).
Murata: I've also been able to challenge myself with various initiatives. For example, I recently participated in the AI comedy battle "Bokete Den-Shou Sen," where AI systems competed to come up with one-liners based on images. It was a very unique application of AI, offering an experience I couldn't have had elsewhere.
Collaborating within the group and participating in diverse AI development projects
Q. Dentsu Digital Inc.'s main operations include digital marketing strategy development, IT platform design and construction, and DX consulting for client companies. What kind of work do you typically do?
Murata: My primary focus is optimizing banner ads. I analyze banner ad data and develop AI that predicts the effectiveness and efficiency of newly created banners.
Ishikawa: While Murata is committed to AI solutions that drive business growth, I'm the planner constantly thinking up new and outlandish ideas (laughs). I also give presentations to client companies showcasing our competitive advantage, saying, "We'll assign this talented AI engineer to provide your company with customized AI."
Q. Working at Dentsu Digital Inc. now, do you feel a sense of growing team members and expanding AI development?
Ishikawa: We're still in the process, but the momentum to expand the AI business across the entire company is definitely growing. Collaboration within the Dentsu Group is also deepening, especially with Data Artist Inc., where we collaborate on many projects. At the "2022 Annual Conference of the Japanese Society for Artificial Intelligence (36th)" held in Kyoto in June 2022, Dentsu Inc., Dentsu International Information Services Inc., and Dentsu Digital Inc. participated as sponsors and exhibited AI solution case studies.
Murata: In our AI development business, we also sense a growing demand for diverse corporate needs. To meet this demand, I feel we need to expand what our team can do. To that end, we want to increase the number of AI engineers.
These two individuals continue to achieve significant results in global AI competitions. By deepening collaboration across Dentsu Group companies, they have established a solid track record in AI development. In the second part, we explore the unique potential of AI × Creativity within the Dentsu Group and discuss the first steps companies can take to begin utilizing AI.
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Author
Ryuichi Ishikawa
Dentsu Digital Inc.
After pursuing a career as a musician, I worked as an artist manager at a record company before acquiring AI expertise. In 2018, I joined Dentsu Digital Inc. I research creative applications of AI across various fields, including data analysis, image analysis, and natural language processing. I review AI-related papers daily and constantly update my knowledge. I am capable of developing a wide range of AI solutions, including image processing, natural language processing, data analysis, and inference. Qualifications: Kaggle Master
Hideki Murata
Dentsu Digital Inc.
Joined Dentsu Digital Inc. in June 2020. Engaged in tasks such as advertising effectiveness prediction and automated content generation, challenging myself to create and deliver efficient advertisements. Pursuing data analysis competitions as a hobby, and in May 2022, earned the Grand Master title on the data analysis platform Kaggle.