On March 27, 2026, we hosted the event "Gene Of Creativity: Mapping The Future Of Manga And Technology" at Digital Garage in San Francisco, U.S., exploring the future of manga and technology.This event was realized through a co-hosting partnership among the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco, Digital Garage, Inc., the Japan Society of Northern California (JSNC), and Orange Inc. The intersection of each organization's network and expertise created a space for cross-disciplinary discussion and networking among professionals from diverse fields such as technology, manga, publishing, and Japanese culture.The event welcomed acclaimed manga artist Kyuri Yamada, creator of The Gene of AI — whose anime adaptation streamed in North America in 2023 — as a special guest from Japan. Approximately 130 attendees, including technology professionals, manga fans, and publishing industry professionals, gathered for the event. The program featured a wide-ranging discussion on how the evolution of AI may reshape creativity within Japanese pop culture and its growing global influence.■ Main Session: "The Ever-Evolving Relationship Between Humans and Technology" by Kyuri YamadaThe event kicked off with a keynote dialogue featuring Kyuri Yamada, moderated by Nao Kondo, our Experiential Marketing Manager.Yamada discussed the "ideal relationship between humans and technology" predicated on the evolution of AI, as well as the inspiration behind his work. He shared an anecdote that the societal impact of deep learning around 2015 deeply shocked him, which led to the conceptualization of The Gene of AI.He also revealed specific behind-the-scenes details about his creative process, explaining how he actively utilizes AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and NotebookLM as "collaborators" to help generate ideas and construct stories. His stance of viewing AI as an entity that expands creativity drew significant interest from the audience.■ Panel Discussion 1: Global Expansion of Manga in the U.S. MarketThe subsequent panel discussion featured Alvin Lu from Kodansha USA, Andy Nakatani from Viz Media, and Shingo Nozaki from Kinokuniya USA, who discussed the current state and future outlook of the manga market in North America.The manga market saw significant growth during the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued to expand while maintaining that momentum. Once driven primarily by a core fanbase and distributed largely through specialty stores and limited channels, manga has broadened its reach in recent years, gaining traction among a wider range of readers across the U.S.Against the backdrop of these changes, the discussion covered topics such as increased bookstore sales, market expansion into regional cities, and shifts in sales channels combining online and offline platforms, demonstrating that manga is firmly establishing itself as a global content medium.■ Panel Discussion 2: The Forefront of Creativity | Japanese Pop Culture × AI TechnologyIn the second panel discussion, Orange CEO Ugaki took the stage alongside Albert Webson from Anthropic, with Minh Do from Machine Cinema serving as the moderator. Under the themes of "balancing efficiency and quality," "the role of humans in creation," and "the interaction between culture and technology," the panel discussed the impact of AI's evolution on the creative domain.Amid diverse opinions on whether AI should be viewed merely as an efficiency tool or as an entity that expands creativity, Ugaki explained that Orange positions the AI used in our translation process "not as something that takes jobs away from translators, but as a tool to support creation".By having AI handle foundational processes such as base translation, typesetting, and layout adjustments, humans can dedicate more time to creative processes—such as expressing the unique essence of the work, reflecting the author's intent, ensuring consistency across the series, and adjusting cultural nuances. He also highlighted that Orange achieves high-quality localization through the collaboration of AI and humans, based on the premise that humans are responsible for final quality assurance. Furthermore, expectations were raised regarding the potential for Japanese content to reach a wider global audience as cultural barriers are lowered through the evolution of translation technology.This event brought together leaders in the North American manga market and experts at the forefront of AI technology for a meaningful dialogue on the sustainable future of the manga industry. It marked an important step toward connecting Japanese content with the world. The event also fostered active exchange among participants across different fields, highlighting how the theme of “creativity and AI” resonates as a shared area of interest for many.As a related note, the English translated version of The Gene of AI, the masterpiece by Kyuri Yamada who spoke in the keynote dialogue, will be available on our manga app "emaqi" starting May 1, 2026.Moving forward, Orange remains committed to utilizing technology to deliver wonderful works to readers worldwide and to building a healthy ecosystem where creators can continue to take on new creative challenges."Gene Of Creativity: Mapping The Future Of Manga And Technology" Event Page: https://www.usajapan.org/event/gene-of-creativity-mapping-future-of-manga-technology/Photo Credit: Hiro Sogi Media