How AI is helping readers slow down and savor great stories
Key highlights:
- Instead of using AI primarily to maximize speed, the future of reading tech lies in helping us slow down and deeply appreciate literature
- AI will likely widen the gap between authentic, high-quality literature rooted in human experiences and more superficial content
- AI has the potential to support readers throughout the entire reading lifecycle: helping them discover the right books, facilitating deep immersive reading and enabling deeper reflection afterward
In the modern digital age, the word artificial intelligence has become synonymous with speed. We use AI to synthesize reports or summarize lengthy articles into quick bullet points in seconds. But what if the most profound application of this technology was not to help us do more, but to help us do less? What if, instead of accelerating our lives, AI was used to help us slow down?
This was the central theme at the Rakuten Kobo session during Rakuten AI Optimism. A panel of experts challenged the current narrative of AI as an efficiency tool, exploring its potential to linger in the atmosphere of a story. The discussion featured Sabrina Watanabe, General Manager of Rakuten Kobo Japan; Yohei Sadoshima, founder and CEO of Cork Inc. and editor of hit series like Space Brothers and Dragon Zakura; and Rikie Ishii, a creativity engineering expert and a lecturer at Waseda University.
How can AI help us slow down?
Watanabe kicked off the session by highlighting that the true potential of reading technology lies in its ability to help us maintain focus. “In a world where information is constantly pouring in, our mission is to provide a space for deep, uninterrupted thought through our Kobo eReaders,” Watanabe said. “We’re looking at how AI can help us create an environment where people can slow down and truly immerse themselves in the literature.”
For Sadoshima, AI serves as a tool serves to engage with a story on a deeper level. Having managed Space Brothers, a hit Japanese manga series that spanned 18 years and 46 volumes, Sadoshima has experimented with AI to heighten his own appreciation of the work. “I asked AI to create a “tasting menu” of themes and emotions based on the lines that moved me most,” he explained.
The editor also used AI to generate music as a feedback tool. “If a new artist struggles to draw a suspenseful scene, I might generate tense music and ask them to develop a scene that perfectly captures that mood. It is a way to guide the work while giving the creator the autonomy to use their own imagination.”
Ishii sees this as a move from simple text-based commands toward ambient sensory output that engages all five senses. “Using ambient music to provide feedback is a high-level management tool,” Ishii noted. “It allows an editor to empathize with the author’s vision and guide the work without stifling their unique voice.”
For the reader, this means transforming what would otherwise be a quick reading session into a multi-hour artistic experience. Sadoshima explained that when he encounters a poem that moves him, he uses AI to translate it into different languages or even generate a unique musical score that resonates with his own interpretation. “I might spend three minutes reading a poem, but then spend hours translating it and generating a song to match,” the veteran editor said. “I then repeat that song hundreds of times while I read the poem, letting the atmosphere sink in.” He believes that by encouraging readers to curate their own sensory environment, we can transform the way stories are felt and remembered.
How can AI transform the reader’s journey?
The panel then explored how Rakuten Kobo could support the three phases of reading that Watanabe identified: discovery (pre-reading), immersion (mid-reading) and reflection (post-reading).
Ishii proposed that future e-readers could analyze physiological markers such as pupil dilation to better understand which scenes capture a reader’s attention most. “Human pupils tend to expand when they see something that stimulates their emotions,” Ishii noted. “If we could analyze when a reader’s pupils expand, we could understand in which scenes they are truly reacting.”
Watanabe agrees that such innovations could redefine the reader’s journey. “It would be wonderful if we could explore the possibility of incorporating biometric analysis features in the future,” she said. “That would help us move beyond standard recommendation algorithms to a much more accurate level of personalization.”
Does human touch still matter?
Despite the potential offered by such technology, the panel emphasized that human-made art remains irreplaceable. While it is becoming increasingly difficult for people to distinguish between AI and human-made content, there remains a persistent preference for the latter, Ishii said. “The sentences that feel real, the ones where you can almost feel the blood behind the words, are something only a human can create.”
Sadoshima added that a great story is built on the author’s raw, authentic experiences. “A good author must be able to convey what they have truly lived,” he said. “They take a specific memory, such as the scent of a room or the posture of a person during a conversation, and graft that into the story. That’s a strength unique to human authors.”
Watanabe believes that the rise of AI will cement the value of these authentic human stories. “I think the gap between superficial and deep, meaningful work will only grow,” she noted. “AI will act as a bridge, helping people navigate the noise to find the stories that actually matter to them.”
What is next for the reading experience?
As a leader in digital publishing and e-reader hardware, the mission for Rakuten Kobo is to expand the reading ecosystem and broaden the reader’s experience, supporting them from the moment they discover a book to the final moments of reflection. From personalized soundscapes or discovery tools that truly understand a reader’s taste, the goal is to make reading more personal.
“Whether it takes one year or ten, we are fully committed to evolving our platform and finding ways to provide an even higher-quality reading experience for those who love to read,” Watanabe stressed. “Popularity does not mean a book is right for everyone. We still have a long way to go in terms of personalization, but I’m excited about the potential we have in this area.”
As the session concluded, Watanabe emphasized that in an age of screen fatigue and constant digital noise, the hardware must remain a place where eyes do not grow tired and the mind can rest.
