PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Noriko H. Arai

Also known as Noriko Arai, 新井 紀子

Noriko Arai is a researcher in mathematical logic and artificial intelligence whose work tests AI with school examinations and reading skills. She studied law and mathematics before moving from Hiroshima City University to the National Institute of Informatics, where she became a professor and directed the Todai Robot Project. Her Reading Skills Test work began in 2016, and Todai Robot performed in the top 20 percent of students on a University of Tokyo entrance exam during her 2017 TED talk. In 2018, her book about AI and children's reading won the Japan Essayists Club Award, and in 2024 she shared the Association for Natural Language Processing's 30th Anniversary Paper Award. Since April 2026, she has served as a technical adviser to Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing and remains a professor at NII.

Now at
Research Organization of Information and Systems and Research Institute of Science for Education
Born
1962
Works
80
Citations
291
h-index
10
Badges

Years link to their sources. Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1985–1997

    Law and mathematics degrees

    After studying law at Hitotsubashi University, she studies mathematics at the University of Illinois and earns a Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Science in 1985 and a Master of Science in 1990. She completes a law degree at Hitotsubashi in 1995 and earns a Doctor of Science at Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1997.

  2. 1994–2000

    At Hiroshima City University

    She works in Hiroshima City University's Faculty of Information Science from 1994 to 2000.

  3. 2001–2008

    Associate professor to NII professor

    She joins the National Institute of Informatics as an associate professor in 2001 and becomes a professor in its Information and Society Research Division in 2006. From 2008, she directs its Research Center for Community Knowledge.

  4. 2011–2017

    Directing the Todai Robot

    In 2011, she becomes Program Director of the Todai Robot Project, an AI challenge that asks whether a robot can get into the University of Tokyo. In April 2017, she presents the system's exam performance at TED; it ranks among the top 20 percent of students. In July 2017, she becomes Director-General of the Research Institute of Science for Education.

  5. 2016–2018

    Reading test and a book award

    From 2016, she leads research and development of the Reading Skills Test to diagnose reading comprehension. In 2018, her book Artificial Intelligence vs. Children Who Can't Read Textbooks wins the 66th Japan Essayists Club Award.

  6. 2024

    A 30th Anniversary Paper Award

    She shares the Association for Natural Language Processing's 30th Anniversary Paper Award with fourteen coauthors in 2024 for a paper analyzing errors on the Todai Robot mock-exam task.

  7. 2025

    Two books on reading

    In February 2025, she publishes two books: 新井紀子の読解力トレーニング and シン読解力: 学力と人生を決めるもうひとつの読み方.

  8. Since April 2026

    NII professor and technical adviser

    She is a professor in NII's Information and Society Research Division. Since April 2026, she serves as a technical adviser to Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co., Ltd.

Career

  1. Since 2017Research Institute of Science for EducationFounder, Representative director and director
  2. Since 2001Research Organization of Information and SystemsProfessor, Director
  3. 1999Institute for Advanced StudyVisiting researcher
  4. 1998Fields InstituteVisiting researcher
  5. 1996–2000Hiroshima City University
  6. 1984–1986Kumamoto University

Education

  1. 1997Institute of Science TokyoDoctor of Science
  2. 1990University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignMaster's degree
  3. 1985University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  4. Hitotsubashi University

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

Most-cited works

  1. The complexity of analytic tableaux2001 · ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing (STOC) · 37 citationsWith Toniann Pitassi
  2. Relative efficiency of propositional proof systems: resolution vs. cut-free LK2000 · Annals of Pure and Applied Logic · 28 citations
  3. The Most Uncreative Examinee: A First Step toward Wide Coverage Natural Language Math Problem Solving2014 · Proceedings of the AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence · 23 citations
  4. Mathematics by machine2014 · International Symposium on Symbolic and Algebraic Computation · 21 citations
  5. TelMeA—Expressive avatars in asynchronous communications2005 · International Journal of Human-Computer Studies · 20 citations

From OpenAlex, as of 21 October 2026.

  1. 11% of AI doctorate holders from 2010 to 2016 founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduationIncludes Noriko H. Arai. We estimate how often AI doctorate holders founded or led a company or lab by 10 years after graduation, how waiting times compare between founders and top jobs, and which universities trained the most.
  2. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes Research Organization of Information and Systems. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  3. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  4. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorateIncludes University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorate. Across 2,116 people with both an undergraduate degree and a doctorate recorded, we trace which undergraduate schools feed which doctoral programs, how often students stay at the same school, and how paths differ by birth-country region.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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  1. 【Global Leader Interview】Dr. Noriko Arai: AI Researcher and Professor at National Institute of Informatics – Y-SAPIX Global Campus ygc.y-sapix.com. Checked 22 October 2026.
  2. Noriko Arai - My portal - researchmap researchmap.jp. Checked 22 October 2026.
  3. Keynote｜NTCIR-12｜NTCIR research.nii.ac.jp. Checked 22 October 2026.
  4. Noriko Arai: Can a robot pass a university entrance exam? | TED Talk ted.com. Checked 22 October 2026.
  5. Artificial Intelligence vs. Children Who Can't Read Textbooks | 東洋経済STORE str.toyokeizai.net. Checked 22 October 2026.
  6. ARAI Noriko - Information and Society Research Division - Faculty - Research - National Institute of Informatics nii.ac.jp. Checked 22 October 2026.
  7. Noriko H. Arai - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 22 October 2026.