Establishing the Institute of Integrative Intelligence (III)

On April 17, 2026, marking the 8th anniversary of our founding, I established a research organization called the Institute of Integrative Intelligence (III).

As the CEO of SOPHOLA, I have spent the past eight years developing two core businesses: a consulting and outsourcing practice that promotes the use of cutting-edge MarTech and AdTech, and an e-commerce business that introduces and sells traditional Japanese crafts to overseas companies.

Given this background, I have been asked several times—both internally and externally—why I would choose to establish a research institute now. This article is my attempt to answer that question.

The Origin: A Dialogue with AI

The catalyst was a series of conversations with AI.

In the autumn of 2025, during these interactions, I found myself giving a name—for the first time—to a kind of internal work I had been doing for over 30 years.

Whenever I made decisions, I would reference multiple perspectives within my mind: my past self, present self, and future self, as well as the viewpoints of others. No one had taught me this method. It was simply something I had always done—an unnamed, unstructured habit.

As I described this process to AI, terms such as Integrative Intelligence, vertical integration of perspectives, and internal protocols began to emerge. By naming it, I was finally able to see the structure behind what had previously been unconscious. I realized that this process had been supporting a significant portion of my decision-making and work.

This experience eventually crystallized into a paper (Iino, 2026). And as I wrote, a conviction gradually formed:

This is not something unique to me. It is likely a form of internal work that many people engage in daily—without ever naming it.

At the same time, I began to wonder how many people, like I once did, have lost confidence in their own questions—thinking they may not matter to others—and, as a result, have missed the opportunity to explore those questions more deeply and better understand themselves.

A Paper Alone Was Not Enough

In Chapter 5 of the paper, I wrote:

The theory presented in this study holds true value only if it functions in the lives of others. Its value is not realized through publication, but through being tested, refined, and contributing to the activation of integrative intelligence in more people.

As the author, this statement weighed heavily on me.

Publishing a paper is not the end. A theory only has value when it works in real life. And whether it works or not can only be discovered through practice.

I chose to establish a research institute because I needed a structure that would continuously move between research and practice—something that exists beyond my individual efforts. If left as a personal project, the theory might eventually become fixed, and the practice could lose its meaning. I needed a center of gravity to prevent that. That is why the name “III” was necessary.

What III Will Not Do

In founding III, I first defined what it will not do:

• It will not be an organization that promotes a completed theory or methodology
• It will not codify, standardize, or credential integrative intelligence
• It will not prioritize research over practice, or vice versa
• It will not eliminate failure or discontinuity, but instead treat them as data for revising theory

These principles are deeply connected to my experience building SOPHOLA.

At SOPHOLA, we have consistently avoided imposing “correct answers” in our work.

The moment we declare, “This is the correct form of beauty,” traditional crafts begin to die. The moment we say, “This is the only correct strategy,” a client’s business stops evolving.

Rather than presenting answers, we create the conditions in which discovery can occur. This philosophy is directly reflected in the design of III.

III as a “Name”

In my paper, I describe III not as a fully established system, but as a “name” to which we can return—again and again—as integrative intelligence is practiced, inevitably transformed, and sometimes misapplied.

III exists as a reference point for continuous questioning.

Going forward, I intend to expand this process as widely as possible—encouraging more people to reconsider the value of their own questions through the lens of integrative intelligence, and to engage in self-inquiry as an ongoing, lifelong practice.

Although III is a separate legal entity from SOPHOLA, I see it as a place where we can continue to explore—more deeply and over a longer period—the fundamental questions SOPHOLA has always engaged with:

What is beauty?
What is knowledge?
What does it mean for a person to live well?

What Comes Next

At III, we plan to pursue the following initiatives:

• A continuing series of papers on integrative intelligence (currently envisioning 6–7 papers)
• Intervention research on RIDP (Resonance-based Internal Dialogue Protocol with AI), starting May 2026
• Case studies on “integrative intelligence-based mountaineering”
• Seminars, workshops, publications, and application development

None of these are designed to disseminate “completed knowledge,” but rather to create materials that deepen inquiry.

SOPHOLA’s existing businesses will continue as they are.

I hope that III will serve as a point of reference—one that carries forward our questions and allows us to return to them whenever needed.

Masaki “Mark” Iino
Founder & CEO
SOPHOLA, Inc